Israeli-Palestinian Prayer Meeting Confirmed for June 8
A prayer meeting at the Vatican with Israeli President Shimon Peres and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will take place in the afternoon of June 8, Pentecost Sunday, the Vatican has announced.
Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi confirmed this afternoon the date of the "Prayer for Peace", first announced by Pope Francis during his May 24-26 Holy Land pilgrimage.
In a short statement, Father Lombardi said the date had been "accepted by both Israel and Palestine". It's believed the Sunday meeting will take place at the Pope's Casa Santa Martha residence but this hasn't been confirmed.
During his visit to the Holy Land, the Holy Father spontaneously invited the two presidents to come to the Vatican to pray for peace. He told reporters on his return from the Holy Land that he had originally hoped the meeting would take place during his visit, but that logistically it wasn't possible.
The Pope, who called the worldwide Church to pray for peace in Syria last September, is keen to emphasise the power of prayer in helping to resolve international disputes.
Edward Pentin Edward Pentin is the Register’s Senior Contributor and EWTN News Vatican Analyst. He began reporting on the Pope and the Vatican with Vatican Radio before moving on to become the Rome correspondent for EWTN's National Catholic Register. He has also reported on the Holy See and the Catholic Church for a number of other publications including Newsweek, Newsmax, Zenit, The Catholic Herald, and The Holy Land Review, a Franciscan publication specializing in the Church and the Middle East. Edward is the author of The Next Pope: The Leading Cardinal Candidates (Sophia Institute Press, 2020) and The Rigging of a Vatican Synod? An Investigation into Alleged Manipulation at the Extraordinary Synod on the Family (Ignatius Press, 2015). Follow him on Twitter at @edwardpentin.
