Dominican Friars host 4,500 at DC Rosary Pilgrimage

Approximately 4,500 people attended the fourth annual Dominican Rosary Pilgrimage at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception on Sept. 26. The Dominican Friars of the Province of St. Joseph hosted the daylong event, which included talks on Marian prayer, Eucharistic adoration, and the sacrament of reconciliation. Tens of thousands of additional participants joined the gathering through a livestream broadcast.

The pilgrimage served as a preparation for the upcoming month of the rosary. According to Father John Paul Kern, executive director of the Dominican Friars Foundation, an estimated 100,000 Catholics participated in a nine month novena leading up to the event, which began on Jan. 31.

Father Patrick Briscoe, the promoter general for social communication for the Province of St. Joseph, noted that the pilgrimage grows in attendance each year. The province's jurisdiction extends from New England to Virginia and Ohio.