Preliminary Report on 3,500 Public Square Rosary Rallies 2008
(Note: More to come after reports arrive from rally captains.)
Tens of thousands of Catholics gathered at noon to pray The Public Square Rosary on October 11 in approximately 3,500 locations across the nation. The basic message was:
“We’re praying that God save America…”
Rally Captain Mrs. Shramp had this rally in Kansas City, next to the Ward Pkwy Shopping Center
Six months of intensive planning preceded the rallies. So when October 11 arrived, America Needs Fatima could announce that – thanks to God -- 3,500 rallies were held across the United States.
Rallies with a Purpose
The rallies had the purpose to ask God, through Our Lady’s Rosary, to save America from its current moral, spiritual, financial and political crisis.
“America is in such a desperate situation, I just know God heard our prayers. The Virgin Mary offered our Rosaries to God on Saturday,” one rally captain from Pennsylvania said, “God will not refuse our petition in our time of suffering and uncertainty.”
A Massive Response
In John Haffert’s book, Meet the Witnesses, he estimated that 70,000 to 100,000 people went to Fatima on October 13, 1917 to see the miracle of the sun. On October 11, 2008, an estimated 120,000 Catholics went out to the Public Square Rosary Rallies in America.
With 3,500 Rosary Captains committed to organizing these events, the mere scope of these rallies was mind-boggling. With the help of the campaign’s central office near Topeka, Kan., Rally Captains received all that was necessary to organize their own events. Posters and programs were downloaded from the Internet. News of the rallies spread quickly and to such an extent that there were rallies in every major city.
Rally locations were published on America Needs Fatima’s web site so that participants could find the one nearest to them. An impressive network was formed in which local organizers would meet nearby Catholics where they thought none existed. Organizers were also pleasantly surprised to find visitors from other states join their ranks on the streets.
Different sizes and places
The public square rosary rallies came in every shape and size. So far the largest was in Austin, Texas. According to News 8 Austin, “more than 1,000 Christians participated in a prayer rally at the Capitol Saturday.”
Fountain Square in Cincinnati Ohio had two large rosary rallies, one starting at 10am and another that went from 12 noon to 2pm, while over 100 people gathered at the capitol in Harrisburg, Pa.
Rally captain, Mr. Lazaro Hernandez, had his rally at Miami Lakes, Florida.
One Public Square Rosary Rally took place in front of the Supreme Court in Washington DC, where people bore public witness to the Fatima message and even knelt on the sidewalk of the capitol of the world’s only superpower.
In York, Pa, there were two rallies, one with more than 50 participants. Another group stationed itself in the middle of Jackson Square in New Orleans. In Topeka, Kansas, there were 4 rallies within blocks of each other. But the prize for “most rallies’ probably goes to Miami for its 70 rallies within the city proper.
Rally Captains and Participants
As reports started flooding in from across the country, it was evident that rally captains and participants were very happy to pray the Rosary and honor Our Lady in public. Nothing can substitute for the direct reading of the experiences expressed in their emails and over the phone
For example, e-mails began to arrive:
“As people started to show up I stop feeling nervous and sad, I started to feel taller and stronger with an overwhelming sense of happiness rushing through me.”
“It was windy and spitting drops of rain "holy water" as one lovely lady called it, but just as we finished praying the sun came out. I have no doubt that Our Lady was with us. It was wonderful, to the have the cars and trucks honking as they went by.
I just know that 2008 will be more successful than 2007, and that 2009 even more.”
“As we were ending, a lady who had joined us early, spontaneously began singing traditional Mexican songs of praise to Our Lady bringing the rest of her friends singing as well. It was a beautiful way to end the Rosary Rally!”
Picture from Mr. Leopoldo Aguilera, rally captain in Miami, Florida, who wrote: "On Saturday, October 11, 2008, 30 people prayed the Rosary publicly at Bird Road and SW 87 Ave., in Miami. Our rally was one of 5 on Bird Road, one of 50 in Dade county, and one of 3,500 prayed at the same time all across America at 12 noon. We prayed to God and to Our Holy Mother for their intercession to put an end to the bad things that are happening in our nation and in the world, politically, economically, the lack of morality, ethics and principles, plus abortions and outright blasphemy.
“Well, we made it! The day here in Cincinnati was an absolutely beautiful early fall day with crisp air and lots of bight sunshine to usher in the prayer vigil in honor of the 91st anniversary of Our Lady’s appearance to the three shepherd children of Fatima. “
“It was a blessing to be gathered together with Catholics of many different backgrounds in prayer for the well-being and consecration of our country, particularly at a time when a great financial crisis have many people anxious and afraid.”
The flood continued with messages like these.
Need to pray for America
The main theme of the rosary rallies was “pray for America,” which fit into the headlines of bad news in the economy and elsewhere.
From the blogosphere, I found some reactions from people who related our rallies to the increasing troubled situation in America.
One lady wrote:
“We attended our parish’s Rosary Rally for our nation. I had been dragging my feet thinking of all the things I had to get done and how this Rally in the middle of the day was going to really make it difficult to finish anything. While I was nursing Margaret this morning I saw this video on The Cherry Blossoms blog. It was the reminder I needed to get my priorities straight. Clean dishes and folded laundry mean nothing while the slaughter continues.”
Then, I found this testimonial to the rosary rallies on another blog:
“I looked out the window and saw a group of people setting up statues of Our Lady. I wandered over to the little square formed at the point where Roosevelt and Woodside Avenues converge, and saw that I was just in time to join in America Needs Fatima's Rosary Rally… Curiously enough, this past week a friend was reminding me that it is times like this in which we must turn to Our Lady with our fears and concerns; she also remarked that we ought to make a conscious effort to consecrate our nation to Our Lady.“
More reactions like this arrive every minute.
Rosaries before the throne of God
Man’s efforts are insignificant in themselves. But with the aid of Providence, a simple witness became a massive and beautiful event reinforcing the belief that God can intervene and hear the prayers of the faithful. These prayers and future public prayers may not have immediate consequences, but they might weigh heavily for the future of the nation.
These 3,500 rallies were seen by many thousands of people, which is good and even necessary to help spread the Fatima message and save souls. But, above all, they were a fervent plea made up of thousands of rosaries offered by Our Blessed Mother before the throne of God.
We have complete trust that Almightily God will hear our prayers asking him to save America because they were presented by His Most Holy Mother. And Our Lord never refuses His Mother anything she seeks, as St. Bridget learned in a revelation.
One day this Saint heard Our Lord saying to Mary: "Ask Me for anything; your request can never be in vain." And this is the beautiful reason He gave: "Because you never refused Me anything on earth, I will refuse you nothing in Heaven."
With this in mind, we know that God will not refuse our prayers.
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