The Diocese of Peoria’s special “Year of the Most Holy Rosary” will culminate and close next Saturday, June 5, with an afternoon celebration at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Peoria to be attended by First Communicants and their families from throughout the diocese.

Bishop Daniel R. Jenky, CSC, will renew the Diocese of Peoria’s consecration to the Blessed Virgin Mary at the conclusion of a 4 p.m. Mass.

The celebration begins at 3:30 p.m. with recitation of the rosary. A Marian procession, featuring First Communicants carrying single-stem flowers provided by the diocese to place at a statue of Mary, will open the Mass. Bishop Jenky will be celebrant and homilist.

While the public is invited to attend the celebration, limited seating is expected. First Communicants and their families received a personal invitation from Bishop Jenky, and nearly 500 seat requests have already been recorded.

Children from Catholic schools and parish catechetical programs will serve as lectors, gift bearers, and petition readers. First Communicants taking part in the procession are asked to gather in the cathedral vestibule at 3:50 p.m.

The diocese has been devoting special attention to the rosary since August of 2008, when Bishop Jenky announced preparations for a “graced time of prayer and intimacy within our church” to “reinvigorate the venerable practice of meditating on the Gospel through the prayers of the holy rosary,” especially among younger Catholics.

From Aug. 15, 2009 — the feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary — through next Saturday, parishes and institutions of the diocese have made the rosary a focus of celebrations, devotions, and teaching opportunities.

“Through the prayers of the rosary, our Lady continues to lead her children to a deeper relationship with her Son, the Son of God,” wrote Bishop Jenky.