Rosary Congress to kick off with 4.7-mile walk in Baltimore

When St. Joseph and the Blessed Virgin Mary traveled from Nazareth to Bethlehem to register for the census, they walked or rode a donkey on a 75-mile journey over the course of about five days.

Pilgrims set to walk from the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in Homeland to the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Baltimore on the first day of the Oct. 2-8 Rosary Congress will have it much easier. Their 4.7-mile walk should take less than two hours, bringing them to America’s first cathedral in time for the fifth-annual Rosary Congress’ 10 a.m. opening Mass.

The Rosary Congress commemorates the 104th anniversary of the Blessed Virgin Mary’s appearance to three small shepherd children in Fatima, Portugal.

The Baltimore Basilica will offer Masses, opportunities for confession and perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament throughout the week in the undercroft chapel. (The perpetual adoration chapel will be closed during the congress.) The rosary will be prayed every hour on the hour.

St. Mark in Fallston will also offer a program of events, including Masses, eucharistic adoration, opportunities for confession, an Oct. 4 talk by Michael Misulia on making prayer a priority and an Oct. 7 rosary candlelight procession.

In this Year of St. Joseph, the theme for this year’s Rosary Congress is “In the arms of St. Joseph.” At the basilica, homilies throughout the week will touch on various themes taken from titles for St. Joseph, including “Guardian of the Redeemer,” “Terror of Demons” and “Patron of the Dying.”

Archbishop William E. Lori has designated special prayer intentions for each day of the congress. They cover a wide range of topics including an end to abortion, a greater love of the Eucharist, an end to racism and injustice, an increase of vocations to the priesthood and religious life, and more.

Angelus Virata, director of evangelization at the basilica, is coordinating the conference with Julie Tomko, coordinator of outreach at St. Mark.

Virata noted that the walking pilgrimage is a first for the Rosary Congress. Participants will gather at 7:30 a.m. Oct. 2 at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen. They begin the walk to the basilica following a 7:45 a.m. prayer service.

Participants are encouraged to take the bus #51 that stops near the basilica to return to the cathedral to get to their cars. Limited carpooling will also be available, Virata said.

Virata said she was excited that this year represents the first time the cathedral and the basilica, co-cathedrals of the Archdiocese of Baltimore, are working jointly on a Rosary Congress event. She sees the congress as an opportunity for people to grow in their Catholic faith.

“We pray and hope for the conversion of hearts of the people of Baltimore and for unity in our church,” she said.

For more information about the Rosary Congress, visit www.archbalt.org/rosarycongress

Email George Matysek at gmatysek@CatholicReview.org

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