TFP Distributes 300 Rosaries in the Streets of Vienna
In 1679, the city of Vienna was struck by a terrible plague. Many lost their lives and the situation was bleak. Seeking recourse to Heaven, Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I of the House of Hapsburg promised to erect a monument to God if his people were saved.
Several hundred years later, 8 young volunteers from the TFP Student Action Europe gathered at the site of this same column to ask them to save the Austrian people again, though now a moral plague, not a physical plague.
Once there, these TFP volunteers brought a statue of Our Lady of Fatima, in honour of an anniversary of the apparitions. Facing the image, they and several locals, prayed a public rosary for the moral restoration of the country.
In addition to this, the volunteers handed out over 300 rosaries and information packets to the people.
Many pedestrians were totally overwhelmed by the sight of young Catholics witnessing for their faith in the public square. As one couple said, “All the time we see American protestants spreading their messages all over once Catholic countries. To see Catholic youth spreading the rosary and defending the Faith here in Europe is absolutely inspiring. Thank you for what you're doing.”
Even those who were not Catholic were moved by the demonstration. In the words of one man who took a rosary, “I left the Church many years ago, but my mother was a strong Catholic. I am going to bring this rosary to her grave. Thank you so much.”
This event marks one element in a larger campaign of the Austrian TFP to diffuse devotion to the Holy Rosary and the Mother of God among the Austrian people. So far, nearly five hundred thousand rosaries have been distributed.
In this line, the Austrian TFP will continue to pray for the moral restoration of this once great, Catholic empire and the realisation of the social kingship of Christ among her people.