NATIONWIDE -- Thursday is the annual National Day of Prayer.         

The event was created in 1952 by a joint resolution of Congress, and signed into law by President Harry S. Truman.

In 1988, the law was unanimously amended by both the House and the Senate and signed into law by President Ronald Reagan.

It designated the first Thursday of May as a day of national prayer.

Every president since 1952 has signed a National Day of Prayer proclamation.

Hundreds gathered in downtown Raleigh on Halifax Mall with prayers for peace and healing resonating throughout the grounds.