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From Cape Town to New York, Catholics Take to the Streets for Our Lady
Oct 21, 2026 / Written by: Dominic Tuffin
On October 10, 2026, individual groups of Catholics appeared in public locations across South Africa to pray the rosary in honor of Our Lady of Fatima.
These Rosary Rallies were organized by South Africa Needs Our Lady (SANOL), as part of an annual campaign encouraging the Faithful to pray the rosary in public for South Africa on the Saturday closest to October 13, the anniversary of the Miracle of the Sun. This is the eleventh year running that South Africa Needs Our Lady has organized this campaign.
South Africa Needs Our Lady has been contacting Catholics across the country for the past few months, asking them to lead a Rosary Rally in their area. Leading a Rosary Rally consists of going together with others to a public place with a large banner and program supplied by SANOL. The group then prays a full rosary along with other prayers and hymns on the program. Captains are encouraged to invite family, friends, and parishioners to join.
The aim of a Rosary Rally is to make public reparation for sins committed against God, to pray for God's mercy upon the nation through the intercession of His Most Holy Mother, and to “wear our Faith on our sleeves” by proudly stating we are unapologetically Catholic, and that we will not stand by and remain silent in the face of the wave of blasphemy, perversity, and offences hurled at Our Lord by modern society.
Praying the Rosary in public is a practice advocated by St Louis de Montfort (1673-1716), a French Catholic priest and great devotee and apostle of Our Lady. He fervently preached devotion to Our Lady through the recitation of the daily rosary.
While preaching in the city of Rennes in France, a certain Monsieur D'Orville asked St Louis' advice about how to deal with the noise and revelry of iniquitous people who frequented the town square next to his home. St Louis' advice to him was to place a statue of Our Lady in a niche in the wall facing the public square, and to pray the rosary in front of it every day with his family and others who were disturbed by what was happening in the square.
Initially uneasy, Monsieur D'Orville, however, did as the saint suggested, and very soon saw results. Following his good example, more faithful joined him in praying to the Virgin. The crowds in the square were at first hostile, but through the intercession of Our Lady, the crowds soon disappeared, and the town square became a place of devotion to the Blessed Virgin rather than a place of sin and debauchery.
Taking the example given by St Louis, the Public Square Rosary Campaign is a prayer crusade to reclaim the world for Christ, through the intercession of His Mother, one street corner at a time. Blessed Pope Pius IX, when speaking of the power of the rosary, said: "Give me an army praying the rosary, and I will conquer the world."
On October 10, I was privileged to be in New York City, attending the Rosary Rally hosted by America Needs Fatima (ANF), which organized 24,700 Rallies across the United States of America. In the company of the American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family, and Property (TFP), and the St Louis de Montfort Academy, we held an epic Rosary Rally in front of Rockefeller Center across from St Patrick's Cathedral in Manhattan. One can see the video here. The Saint Louis de Montfort Academy school band played hymns and songs throughout the event, ending with “God Bless America.” A large statue of Our Lady of Fatima presided over the rally and was surrounded by the banners of America Needs Fatima and the standards of the TFP. It was a truly impressive sight, inspiring passers-by to pray with us, which is one of the aims of praying in public.
It was spectacular to be standing in a crowd of over a hundred people, praying the rosary and knowing that similar groups were praying at the same time all across the United States. I was also fervently praying in spirit with the Rosary Rallies being held across South Africa on the same day. It was my ardent prayer that Our Blessed Mother may look kindly upon South Africa, and bless its people in a special way, and lead the nation to the Truth of the Catholic Faith.
In South Africa, we encourage people to continue to pray the Rosary in public every year, and organize them on a more regular basis if possible.
I also fully encourage and ask everyone to pray the daily rosary as requested by Our Lady at Fatima in 1917. It is, to quote Padre Pio, “the greatest weapon of our times,” and instrumental for obtaining graces.
If you are interested in joining this crusade, please click here to go to the Rally Captain sign-up page.
Keep praying the Rosary, and God bless you.
