Practical suggestions

How and Where to gather the children

1. Children should not be approached classroom by classroom, but instead gathered in a large hall, gym, or chapel. Outdoor gatherings are recommended only when there is no available indoor space.

Elementary school children should typically be divided into groups by age. For example, 1st and 2nd graders in one session, and 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders in another.
Preschool children should be met separately, in one or more sessions, with no more than one hundred children at a time.

Distribution of Rosaries and Leaflets

Rosary beads should be handed out to the children as they enter the meeting space and should be placed around their necks to prevent them from playing with them during the event.
They should be instructed to hold them only at the end, when the Rosary is explained.

Leaflets containing the mysteries of the Rosary should be distributed only after the speaker (priest or delegate) finishes talking and the consecration is done, otherwise the children will be distracted reading them instead of listening.

Seating the children

If there are seats available, that’s ideal. Otherwise, children should be invited to sit on the floor or stand in orderly lines by class. Younger children should be placed in the front rows, with the older children behind them.

During the consecration, when they are invited to say their “yes,” all children should be standing.
Any children causing disruption should be quickly identified and gently separated with the help of chaperones or teachers.

Duration of the meeting

Each gathering should last no more than one hour and include:

1. The speech and invitation to consecration.
   This first part should not exceed twenty minutes; otherwise, the children may lose focus and not say their “yes” with the necessary participation.

2. Explanation of how to pray the Rosary, reciting only the first decade of the day’s mysteries, while encouraging the children to continue on their own.

3. Invitation to make a small sacrifice, especially giving up TV and/or video games for at least a week. This should be done at the end.
   The meeting should close with a blessing given with the statue of the Madonna, an invitation to blow her a kiss, and a song to Mary — ideally a well-known one (ask teachers in advance) so that everyone can participate — followed by a round of applause.

If available, it’s recommended to leave a picture of Our Lady of Fatima with each class, asking the teachers to frame and display it in the classroom.

General Advice

Based on our experience — especially with large groups, outdoor events, or locations with poor acoustics — we suggest being as brief as possible: it’s okay to omit the Angel’s apparitions and/or the story of the rosary being gifted, in order to focus clearly on the meaning of the consecration.

Please keep to the order of topics as laid out in the text.

It’s important to keep the children’s attention. One helpful method is to actively involve them by prompting responses at suggested points (indicated by ellipses in the script).

Before each meeting, pray a decade of the Rosary and the Guardian Angel prayer, asking your angel to connect with the children’s guardian angels, to open their minds and hearts.

A Note for Those embracing this Mission

Good work! And thank Mary for choosing you for this apostolate — the simplest, yet most powerful.
You will feel within your spirit a great Strength and Joy that the Holy Spirit will transmit to you through the children: it is the “thank you” from our Heavenly Father, smiling upon you for allowing Him to fully take hold of His little ones, with whom He will fight — and win — the final battle against the eternal enemy:

“Out of the mouths of babes and infants
You have established strength against Your foes,
to silence the enemy and the avenger.”
(Psalm 8:2-3)