More than 4,000 school children will gather at the basilica, according to the St. Paul/ Minneapolis division of the World Apostolate of Fatima. Children around the world will join them to pray the Rosary before the Blessed Sacrament in their own parishes, dioceses and schools. They will also pray the Entrustment to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, prayers of reparation taught by the Angel of Fatima, and the Benediction.

“Then Jesus does what no one else can do; he fans the flame of faith in the hearts of the children. This is the door that will initiate the new times in the families of the world.”

According to the World Apostolate of Fatima, the Worldwide Children’s Holy Hour responds to the requests of Our Lady of Fatima in 1917 for prayers and sacrifices, and for the particular requests of the “Angel of Peace” to the three shepherd children visionaries for prayer and reparation before the Eucharistic Lord.

Marlon De La Torre, Superintendent of Schools of the Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, said that the Children of the Eucharist program has helped foster deeper appreciation for the true presence of Christ in the Holy Eucharist.

“Hopefully we can start to see this in more and more dioceses,” he continued. “As human persons, we are made for the Eucharist and our children in particular have a receptivity for the Eucharist that is only waiting for an invitation. That’s our job as adults to make that invitation to help them come to love and serve Christ.”