On October 1st, Pope Leo XIV led several hundred children in reciting the rosary, a traditional Catholic prayer, before a replica of the Lourdes grotto located in the Vatican gardens. In his prayer, he requested "peace for all children of the world." On September 27, during his apostolic journey to France, he called on Catholics to pray for peace by reciting the rosary during the month of October. "If a million children pray the rosary, the world will change," said Saint Padre Pio, a great devotee of the rosary, and this is also the belief of the Aid to the Church in Need (AED) foundation, which each year invites children around the world to pray the rosary for peace and unity in the world during the first week of October. This initiative, named "A Million Children Pray the Rosary," resonates particularly with the appeal made in recent days by Pope Leo XIV. During his recent trip to France and during the general audience on Wednesday, September 30, the Pope invited Catholics to pray during the month of October for "the cessation of wars." This appeal takes on a particular resonance in this month traditionally dedicated to Marian prayer. It is precisely in this spirit that Pope Leo XIV met on Thursday, October 1st, with 700 children gathered at the Vatican to pray the rosary for peace. In a short speech with a cheerful tone and in a more light-hearted register than his usual speeches, he said he was "really happy" to be with them. He told them they were gathered for "the two people who love us more than anyone else": Jesus and Mary. Then, he asked his young audience to repeat after him "I love you, Mary" and "I love you, Jesus." Addressing the Mother of God directly, the pontiff asked for "peace for all children of the world." In reciting this prayer, "we also commit ourselves to being good and behaving well." "This is how peace grows," he assured. After this speech, the head of the Catholic Church attended a choreography and led the rosary prayer as the Vatican was getting darker. During this prayer, the children and the Pope were invited to pray for different crisis areas: Ukraine, Pakistan, Cuba, and Venezuela, the Middle East, and South Sudan. The visit of Pope Leo XIV to France, summarized by the words "hope" and "renaissance," was marked by a blue Marian thread. It was precisely in Lourdes, notes Father Guillaume de Menthière, that the Pope gave French Catholics a very specific instruction: to pray the rosary during the month of October. During his general audience on Wednesday, September 30, Pope Leo XIV spoke again of the dazzling beauty of this cathedral, Notre-Dame de Paris, which, in a literal sense, has been reborn from its ashes; and of his visit to Metz, a city symbolizing the rebirth of Europe after the drama of World War II; but also of these adult catechumens, now so numerous, who, like a "beautiful surprise from God," constitute a "sign of renaissance that persists in the Church of France." How can one be reborn without a Mother? One does not need to be a great theologian to discern the guiding blue thread of the papal journey: the Blessed Virgin Mary. She who, "at the hour of passion and death, keeps lit the lamp of faith and hope." She whose statue from the 14th century remained intact, immaculate, amidst the ruins of the cathedral that was set on fire. She who was honored as the Fountain of Salvation during the Mass celebrated at the Concorde. She whom the sick come to pray to in Lourdes, "sanctuary of hope." The woman clothed with the sun, whose twelve stars form the flag of this Europe honored during the Lorraine stage of the Pope's visit. She who has "so marked the people of France with her closeness." Finally, she whom the Salve Regina leads us to invoke as "spes nostra, our hope." The battle of hope. This Marian infusion throughout the entire papal journey is undoubtedly not what the great media outlets— even Catholic ones— will remember first about this four-day visit. Yet all have rightly noted the beautiful smile, the kindness, the listening and incredible gentleness emanating from this Pope. All were amazed by the way he welcomed and blessed children and newborns, and how he deeply listened to those victims of clerical violence. All recognized and admired in the Pontiff these highly maternal qualities. It would already be something if Pope Leo XIV had managed to lead us out of these sad passions and that "sterile pessimism" that his predecessor, Francis, condemned in strong terms. But once freed from this reef, let us be careful not to fall into beatific naivety. It is precisely the battle of hope that the Pope exhorts us to take up, following the strong woman, Our Lady of the Magnificat. It is not enough to applaud with both hands or to dwell on the wonderful memories of these few euphoric days. We must commit ourselves resolutely by generously responding to the requests of the Holy Father. Pray the holy rosary. Now, in these first days of October, the month of the rosary, there is a directive that we must follow absolutely and urgently. Let us listen to the voice of the Pope who says (Angélus on Sunday, September 27, in the grotto of Massabielle): "I would like to launch a call that is particularly close to my heart, finding myself in this place [in the grotto of Lourdes]. It was here that the Virgin Mary appeared to Saint Bernadette with the rosary and that she, so to speak, guided her prayer. That is why today, as if I received this request from her, I invite all the faithful and all Christian communities to pray the holy rosary during the coming month of October, with a particular intention that wars cease and peace is established between peoples in conflict." Let us not remain with our arms folded, asking ourselves: "What will we do now? It was so magical, these times with the Pope, but now? How not to give in to the anxiety of daily life?" It is simple: let us take up our rosary again. At the invitation of the Virgin relayed by the Pope, let us recite the rosary and entrust ourselves to Mary, the cause of peace in the world, in our country, in our families, and in our hearts. Mary, Our Lady of the Rosary, Queen of Peace, pray for us!