For the thirty-fourth consecutive year, three San Gabriel Valley parishes will host a Mother's Day Rosary Pilgrimage in honor of the Blessed Mother and all earthly mothers.

St. Christopher in West Covina, St. Louis of France in La Puente and St. Joseph in La Puente will each host part of the May 8 event, which will include a procession, a decade of the rosary and a short talk. The co-hosts are Msgr. Nestor Rebong, pastor of St. Christopher; Father Matthew Cumberland, pastor of St. Joseph; and Msgr. Joseph Herres, senior priest at St. John the Baptist, Baldwin Park.

Again this year, a statue of Our Lady of Fatima will travel with the pilgrimage and be carried in the procession in each church, accompanied by children dressed as angels and the children of Fatima. It was at Fatima in 1917 that Mary came to children instructing them to pray for peace.

The Rosary Pilgrimage started in 1977 with a relatively small group of people from the three parishes and has grown over the years, under the direction of Lorraine Kueter, organizer and one of the three founders of the annual event. All are welcome to participate, says Kueter, who encourages Catholics to invite non-Catholics to join in prayer on the day honoring mothers.

"The rosary is for everyone, for people of all faiths," says Kueter. "In meditating on the life of Jesus, we use this prayer asking for peace. Mothers and the world need everyone's prayers."

Participants may attend the entire pilgrimage, but choose to participate at one or two of the parishes.

The event will begin at 3 p.m. at St. Christopher, at 629 S. Glendora Ave., West Covina; continue at 4 p.m. at St. Louis of France, 13935 E. Temple Blvd., La Puente; and conclude at 5 p.m. at St. Joseph, 550 N. Glendora Ave., La Puente. Information: (626) 917-1531.