Students from St. Thomas More Cathedral School in Arlington gathered to pray the World Mission Rosary in the Cathedral parking lot in observance of the month of the rosary and Extraordinary Missionary Month Oct. 18.
They were joined by school faculty and staff, as well as Bishop Michael F. Burbidge and chancery staff. Students were divided into groups representing the five decades, with different colors for each. Green calls to mind the forests and grasslands of Africa; blue is for the ocean surrounding the Islands of the Pacific; white symbolizes Europe, the seat of the Holy Father; Red echoes missionaries to the Americas; and yellow stands for Asia.
The World Mission Rosary was inaugurated by Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, national director for the Propagation of Faith (1950-66) in February 1951.