On the memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary, Bishop Michael Burbidge visited a Catholic school within his Diocese of Arlington to pray the Rosary together with the entire student body.

Gathering outside St. Thomas More Cathedral School in Arlington, Virginia, with 450 students on the blacktop. Bishop Burbidge and the students prayed the Joyful Mysteries to mark the feast day first known as Our Lady of Victory. 

Alongside their teachers and administrators, students led the Rosary, with each decade said by a group of two pupils representing different missions around the world, including the Americas and Asia.

Aerial shots from above captured the quiet moments of prayer amid a busy city bustling all around them, a reminder that amid the constancy of life, our Lord and his Mother Mary are always present. 

Standing with a group of third-graders within the Diocese of Arlington, Bishop Burbidge prayed next to them, offering petitions for the school, the diocese, local communities and the world. Afterward, he addressed the students.

“I know how happy the Blessed Mother is you all prayed so wonderfully this morning,” Bishop Burbidge said, noting how reverent and prayerful the students were.

The event on campus reminds the shepherd how he himself learned the Marian prayer. “I learned the Rosary at home. We would often pray as a family and we also prayed at school. My grandmother would pray the Rosary as often as three times a day,” Bishop Burbidge explained to the Register. “I saw how much the Rosary inspired reliance on Mary’s intercession, so I knew it was a special way to pray.”

Praying as a community is something that Principal Ann LaBarge takes  seriously. Speaking about the event, she remarked about how important moments like these help reinforce for students just how much the Blessed Mother loves them.

“As Catholics, we embrace Jesus’ Mother as our mother. It is important for our community to pray the Rosary together because our children get to know and love our Blessed Mother,” she said.

After the Rosary, Bishop Burbidge stayed on the campus to speak to the students, asking them all about the new school year and other topics on their young minds and hearts, and spoke with students as they walked back to class. LaBarge said seeing Bishop Burbidge pray — but also take time to be with the students and talking about whatever is on their minds — helps them live their faith.

She said, “It’s such an honor to have the shepherd of our diocese with us and be an example of faith. And when they are able to have conversations with him, they know he is always concerned and interested in their well-being. His presence is such a blessing.”