A Spiritual Practice for a Nation in Crisis
The power of prayer reaches across all boundaries. When we pray the Rosary, we join our hearts with millions of Catholics around the world who lift their voices to God through Mary’s intercession. For Colombia—a nation facing tremendous violence, displacement, and suffering—the Rosary offers both spiritual strength and a concrete way to participate in God’s work of healing and reconciliation.
Colombia has long been known as a place of great faith. The country has been dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus for generations, and this year it has also been placed under the protection of Mary’s Immaculate Heart. Yet today, many Colombian families face unimaginable pain. Armed conflict has intensified dramatically. In 2024 alone, more than 180,000 people were forced from their homes due to violence. Children cannot go to school safely. Families live in fear and confinement, unable to leave their communities because of threats and armed confrontations. Entire regions of Colombia have become battlegrounds where civilians pay the highest price.
In this moment, the Rosary becomes more than a traditional prayer—it becomes a bridge between hope and reality. Mary, who stood at the foot of her Son’s cross and witnessed the worst human suffering, understands the pain of Colombian mothers who have lost their children, families torn apart by violence, and communities devastated by displacement. When we pray the Rosary for Colombia, we place our trust in her maternal intercession, asking her to carry our prayers and the cries of suffering Colombians to her Son.
This article invites you to pray with intention for Colombia. Whether you are Colombian, connected to someone in Colombia, or simply moved by the suffering of this nation, the Rosary is a spiritual weapon and a powerful act of love.
Understanding Our Nation’s Context Through Faith
Colombia faces what humanitarian organizations have called the worst humanitarian crisis in eight years. The situation has deteriorated dramatically since the 2016 peace agreement, which many Colombians hoped would bring lasting stability and healing. Instead, armed groups have splintered and reconfigured, fighting viciously over territory and control. In 2024, violence reached levels not seen in years, with more civilian exposure to armed conflict than in any of the previous three decades.
The numbers reflect genuine human suffering. According to international monitoring organizations, 26.7 million Colombians have been exposed to organized violence. Over 183,000 people were forcibly displaced in just the first seven months of 2024. Families live in “confinement”—forced to remain in their homes by armed groups, unable to access water, food, medicine, or education. Teachers fled schools; children stopped learning. In one region alone, more people were displaced in the first months of 2025 than throughout all of 2024. These are not abstract statistics. These are your neighbors, your family members, your brothers and sisters in Christ.
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The Catholic Church in Colombia has documented the spiritual impact of this violence. Dioceses report witnessing destruction not only of homes and livelihoods but of the social fabric that holds communities together. Indigenous communities and Afro-Colombian populations, already among the most vulnerable, face disproportionate targeting by armed groups. Children are being recruited into armed forces—216 children in 2024 alone. Women and girls face sexual violence as a weapon of war. Former combatants who sought to rebuild their lives through the peace process are being killed.
Yet even in this darkness, the Church remains present. Catholic organizations continue providing humanitarian aid to the displaced. Priests and pastoral workers move through conflict zones to bring the sacraments to those who still cling to faith. The Vatican, various dioceses, and Catholic charities like Caritas have called repeatedly for protection of civilians and implementation of the peace agreement. Catholic schools, though sometimes taken over by armed groups, remain spaces where teachers try to give children hope for a better future.
The Church teaches us that prayer is not passive acceptance of suffering. Prayer is participation in God’s redemptive work. When we pray the Rosary for Colombia, we are not pretending that prayer alone will end violence—but we are joining our faith to God’s power to transform hearts, soften consciences, and plant seeds of peace that will eventually bear fruit.
A Rosary Prayer for Colombia
Come, Mary our Mother, Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria, you who are the patroness of Medellín and the protector of our nation. We invoke your name, you who are depicted holding the Christ Child while bearing a candle to light our way through darkness. Just as you were presented at the Temple and recognized as the Mother of Salvation, we present to you the suffering of Colombia and ask for your maternal intercession.
Opening Invocation:
Holy Mary, Mother of God, we place Colombia beneath your mantle of protection. You understand the suffering of mothers who weep for their children. You know the terror of families torn apart. You walked with your Son through His Passion and death. Walk now with the people of Colombia through this season of violence and fear. Help us to see your light even in the deepest darkness.
Five Petitions (One decade for each intention):
First Petition: For Leadership, Governance, and Justice We pray for the leaders of Colombia—the President, government officials, military commanders, and peace negotiators. Give them wisdom to seek true peace, not just the appearance of peace. Soften the hearts of those who profit from violence. Grant justice to the victims of armed conflict. Let those who hold power use it to protect the vulnerable, not exploit them. Through the intercession of Mary, Mother of Mercy, we ask for a government that reflects Christ’s preferential love for the poor and the suffering.
Second Petition: For Families, Children, and Education We pray for the families of Colombia, especially those separated by displacement and violence. Protect the children who cannot go to school, who live in fear, who are targeted for recruitment into armed forces. Give courage to teachers who still show up to classrooms despite danger. Restore to parents the ability to feed their children, to keep them safe, to dream of a future. Help families to stay together, to maintain their bonds of love even in crisis. We ask this through Mary, who protected the Christ Child and knows every mother’s love.
Third Petition: For the Vulnerable and Those Suffering We pray for those who have been forcibly displaced from their homes—nearly a million Colombians living in displacement camps, struggling with trauma and loss. We pray for those confined to their communities, unable to move freely or access medicine and food. We lift up those who have experienced sexual violence, those whose family members have disappeared, those crushed by grief and fear. We pray for the health care workers targeted by armed groups and the humanitarian aid workers risking their lives to help others. Give them strength and protection.
Fourth Petition: For the Church, Clergy, and Spiritual Renewal We pray for the priests and pastoral workers of Colombia who minister in conflict zones. Give them courage and protection. Strengthen the faith of Colombian Catholics in this time of trial. May parishes be places of refuge and peace. Help the Church to accompany the victims of violence without fear, to speak truth to power, and to maintain hope in Christ’s resurrection even when death seems to surround us. Renew in all of us a deep commitment to living our faith not just in words but in concrete acts of mercy.
Fifth Petition: For Reconciliation, Peace, and Unity We pray for the day when armed groups will lay down their weapons and violence will cease. We pray for reconciliation between those who have harmed each other, knowing that true peace requires more than the absence of fighting—it requires healing, justice, and the transformation of hearts. We pray that Colombians will choose peace over revenge, that they will work together to rebuild their communities, and that they will remember their common humanity. Guide the peace process with your maternal wisdom, Mary. Lead Colombia toward a future where all people can live with dignity.
Closing:
Holy Mother of God, we entrust Colombia to your care. Jesus Christ has already won the victory over sin and death through His Resurrection. That victory is not yet fully manifest in our world, but through Mary’s intercession, we believe and trust that Christ’s peace will ultimately triumph. Give us patience, courage, and faith as we wait for that day. Amen.
Meditation and Spiritual Reflection
The Sorrowful Mysteries speak directly to what Colombia faces today. These are the mysteries of Christ’s Passion—His suffering, His carrying of the cross, His crucifixion. They are not easy mysteries to contemplate, yet they are essential for understanding faith in the midst of suffering.
When we pray the first Sorrowful Mystery (the Agony in the Garden), we reflect on Jesus praying so intensely in the garden that His sweat became like drops of blood. He faced what was coming and asked His Father if there was another way. Yet He concluded with surrender: “Not my will, but yours be done.” This is what many Colombians must do each day. They cannot change the circumstances of violence around them. They cannot control whether armed groups will attack their village. But they can surrender their fear to God, trusting that He sees their suffering and will bring them through it.
When we pray the second Sorrowful Mystery (the Scourging at the Pillar), we think of Christ being beaten mercilessly, innocent yet suffering. This speaks to the innocence of Colombian civilians caught in conflict not of their making. They did not ask for war, yet they bear the wounds of it. Mary was present during all of Jesus’s suffering. She did not prevent His pain, but she stood with Him. In the same way, our prayers do not magically end violence, but they place us in solidarity with the suffering. We stand with Colombia as Mary stood with Jesus. Our presence through prayer matters.
The third Sorrowful Mystery (the Crowning with Thorns) reminds us that Jesus was humiliated, mocked, and crowned with symbols of pain rather than glory. Many Colombians have experienced humiliation—their homes taken, their communities destroyed, their dignity violated. Yet just as the crown of thorns proved to be temporary while Christ’s kingship proved eternal, so too will the violence fade and the dignity of Colombian people will endure.
Mary’s virtues speak powerfully to what Colombians need in this hour. Her faith was unwavering even when everything seemed lost. Her perseverance sustained her through her Son’s death and the birth of the Church. Her maternal intercession means she constantly brings our needs before God. When we pray the Rosary for Colombia, we are asking Mary to exercise these virtues on behalf of a suffering nation.
Take time with each mystery to sit in the reality of Colombian suffering. Do not rush past it. Feel the weight of it. Then place it in Jesus’s wounds, in Mary’s heart, in the arms of a God who loves Colombia so much that He is willing to suffer with them toward a future of redemption.
Living Your Faith—Practical Steps
Praying the Rosary for Colombia is a beginning, but it must lead to action. The Rosary is a spiritual practice that strengthens our connection to God and to each other. True faith must bear fruit in works of mercy and justice.
1. Establish a Personal or Family Rosary Practice
The Rosary is meant to be prayed slowly and prayerfully, not rushed. Find a quiet space—a corner of your home, a chapel, a garden—where you can be undisturbed. You might pray the Rosary early in the morning before the day’s busyness begins, or in the evening as a way to surrender the day’s worries to God.
If you are new to praying the Rosary, know that it is simpler than it seems. You hold the beads, which guide you through prayers (Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be) while meditating on different moments in Jesus’s life and Mary’s faith. Excellent guides—both written and video—are available for free at FreeRosaryBook.com if you need help learning the structure and rhythm.
Consider involving your family in the practice. Pray the Rosary together with your children, teaching them to hold the beads and follow along. Families who have done this report that it becomes a cherished time of togetherness, a time when the noise of the world quiets and they remember what truly matters. As you pray each decade (a section of the Rosary), silently place the suffering people of Colombia before God. Imagine their faces. Speak their need aloud. Let your prayer be concrete and personal, not generic.
Make a commitment: perhaps one decade of the Rosary each day for Colombia. One decade takes just five or ten minutes. It is a small practice with spiritual power. When you pray this decade, you are joining millions of Catholics worldwide who are also praying for peace and justice.
2. Connect With Your Parish Community
Do not carry this prayer burden alone. Speak with your parish priest or pastoral leader about establishing or joining a Rosary group focused on praying for Colombia and other suffering nations. Many parishes already have groups that meet weekly to pray the Rosary together. The experience of praying in community is profoundly moving—you feel the power of collective faith and the realization that you are not alone in your concern for justice and peace.
If such a group does not exist in your parish, consider starting one. It need not be complicated. You might invite a few friends to gather for an hour once a week to pray the Rosary together. You could include a brief reflection on the suffering in Colombia, share news updates from Catholic organizations working there, and end with intention and fellowship. Community builds strength. When we pray together, our prayers gain a depth they might not have alone.
Use your parish bulletin or social media to invite others to join. Explain why you are praying for Colombia—not in a heavy-handed way, but authentically. Share your heart: “I have been moved by the suffering of people in Colombia and would like to gather with others to pray the Rosary for peace there. If you are interested, please let me know.” You will be surprised how many people have been waiting for permission to engage in this kind of prayer and action.
3. Unite Prayer With Charitable Action
Prayer and action go together. The Rosary calls us to transform our hearts through meditation on Christ’s mysteries, but that transformation must issue forth in deeds of mercy. Colombia needs both our prayers and our material support.
Many Catholic organizations are active in Colombia, providing humanitarian aid, supporting peace efforts, and accompanying victims of violence. Caritas Colombia, for instance, works directly with displaced persons, providing food, shelter, healthcare, and psychological support. The Jesuit Refugee Service works with migrants and internally displaced persons. Local dioceses run schools, clinics, and community centers in conflict-affected areas. These organizations need resources to continue their work.
Consider how you might support them. You could contribute financially—even a small donation multiplied by many people makes a real difference. You might participate in a parish collection or fundraiser benefiting Colombia. Some people commit to a monthly donation to a Catholic organization working there. If you have professional skills, you might offer them—perhaps you could help with translation, fundraising strategy, or communications for an organization helping Colombians.
You could also support peace efforts. Many organizations advocate for implementation of Colombia’s peace agreement, protection of human rights defenders, and prevention of child recruitment. By amplifying their voices on social media, writing to elected officials, or simply sharing accurate information about the situation, you participate in the broader work of peace and justice.
If you or someone in your parish has family connections to Colombia, ask them how you might best help. They may have specific knowledge of organizations, families, or communities most in need. Personal connection makes charitable action more powerful and real.
4. Deepen Your Catholic Faith
Take time to understand more deeply what the Catholic Church teaches about suffering, peace, and justice. Read the encyclicals of recent popes on peace and human dignity. Learn about the Church’s doctrine of subsidiarity (that decisions should be made at the local level whenever possible) and solidarity (that we are responsible for each other across all boundaries). These are not abstract teachings—they speak directly to what is happening in Colombia.
The Church has always taught that faith leads to action for justice. In Latin America, this commitment to justice has been particularly strong. Saints and martyrs have given their lives for the poor and vulnerable. When we deepen our faith, we align ourselves with this tradition of courageous witness.
Consider reading about Catholic saints and leaders from Colombia and Latin America. Mother Laura Montoya (now Saint Laura) was a Colombian saint who devoted herself to serving indigenous peoples with dignity and love. Pope John Paul II’s writings on Latin American struggles for justice are powerful. The documents from the Latin American bishops’ conferences on poverty and peace offer prophetic guidance. The more we understand our faith in context, the more it transforms us.
5. Share Your Faith Journey
You do not need to be an expert to speak authentically about your faith. Simply share what the Rosary means to you. Tell someone: “I have been praying the Rosary for Colombia because I feel called to do something for a nation in crisis. The prayer gives me peace and helps me feel connected to people far away who are suffering. If you would ever like to learn how to pray the Rosary or join me in praying for Colombia, I would welcome that.”
Answer questions honestly when people ask. Do not pretend to have all the answers about the conflict in Colombia—but you can speak truthfully about what you know and what moves your heart. Invite others into this practice of prayer and action without being pushy. Sometimes the most powerful witness is simply a life transformed by faith into greater compassion and commitment to justice.
Use social media wisely. Rather than posting heavy content constantly, share occasionally and authentically. You might post something like: “Praying the Rosary today for the people of Colombia who are experiencing such suffering from armed conflict. The Rosary has become a way for me to feel connected to their pain and to participate in God’s work of peace. If you are interested in learning about the situation or praying together, let me know.”
Remember that your faith journey is your own. Some people will be moved by your witness, and some will not. That is fine. Your responsibility is simply to live your faith with authenticity and to extend genuine invitation to others. Let the Holy Spirit do the rest.
Resources for Prayer and Action
Catholic Resources for Colombia:
- Colombian Episcopal Conference (Conferencia Episcopal Colombiana): The official Church body providing pastoral guidance and spiritual leadership for the Catholic Church in Colombia. Their statements on peace and justice offer authoritative Church teaching on the current situation.
- Caritas Colombia: Direct humanitarian assistance organization providing aid to displaced persons, victims of violence, and vulnerable communities. They work in partnership with local parishes and dioceses throughout the country.
- Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS): International Catholic organization with a strong presence in Colombia, serving internally displaced persons and migrants with physical, psychological, and spiritual support.
- FreeRosaryBook.com: Free downloadable Rosary guides, prayer texts, and Catholic resources to deepen your prayer life and help you pray with intention.
- Vatican Media: Official news and statements from the Pope regarding peace, justice, and the situation in Latin America, including Colombia.
For Learning More:
- Contact your local parish to learn about existing prayer groups or to express interest in starting a new one focused on prayer for peace and justice.
- Speak with your diocesan peace and justice office if one exists in your area.
- Research Catholic organizations working in Colombia to understand their work and mission.
A Simple Commitment
Consider this week, and then this month, making a commitment to pray one decade of the Rosary each day for Colombia. Just ten minutes daily. Hold the beads in your hands. Feel their texture. Slow down. Say the prayers slowly. As you contemplate each mystery, think of the suffering people of Colombia—the displaced mother, the child afraid to go to school, the father searching for his disappeared son, the community leader working for peace despite threats.
This simple practice, joined with millions of Catholics worldwide who pray for peace and justice, is a powerful witness to Christ’s love. It is a refusal to accept violence as the final word. It is a declaration of faith that God’s mercy and peace will ultimately triumph.
You might share this commitment with someone. Tell your family, your prayer group, your close friend: “I am going to pray a decade of the Rosary each day for Colombia. Would you like to join me or pray with me sometimes?” You will be surprised how many people have been waiting for just such an invitation.
The Rosary has changed lives. It has transformed hearts hardened by war into hearts open to reconciliation. It has given strength to those in despair. It has unified communities across differences. Now, through your prayer and the prayer of countless others, may it bring healing and peace to beloved Colombia.
May Our Lady of Candelaria, the patroness of Medellín and protector of our Colombian brothers and sisters, carry our prayers to her Son. May Jesus Christ, who conquered sin and death through His Resurrection, pour out His peace upon a nation torn by violence. And may the Holy Spirit inspire all people of goodwill—whether Catholic or not—to work tirelessly for the day when violence ends and peace truly reigns in Colombia.
Amen.