Catholics around the world this week united in a day of prayer and fasting for peace and reconciliation in the Holy Land as war continues to devastate the region. 

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Catholic patriarch of Jerusalem, called on Catholics to devote time to prayer with Eucharistic adoration and recitation of the rosary on Tuesday, Oct. 17, “to deliver to God the Father our thirst for peace, justice, and reconciliation.” The day of prayer fell on the feast of St. Ignatius of Antioch, the first-century bishop and martyr from Syria.

“In this time of sorrow and dismay, we do not want to remain helpless. We cannot let death and its sting (1 Cor 15:55) be the only word we hear,” he said in a statement last week.

Pope Francis has called for another day of prayer and fasting next week for peace in the Israel-Hamas war.

“I have decided to call for a day of fasting and prayer on Friday, Oct. 27,” the pope announced Wednesday.

It will be “a day of penance to which I invite sisters and brothers of the various Christian denominations, those belonging to other religions, and all those who have at heart the cause of peace in the world, to join in as they see fit,” the Holy Father continued.

A prayer vigil will take place at 6 p.m. in St. Peter’s Basilica where the faithful will join in an hour of prayer with the Holy Father. 

Check out these posts showing how Catholics recently joined in prayer for peace in the Holy Land. 

Catholics around the world have responded to the Patriarch of Jerusalem’s call for a day of prayer and fasting for peace in the Holy Land today.

In Rome, prayers were offered in this 12th-century church on the feast of St. Ignatius of Antioch, bishop and martyr. pic.twitter.com/Jzru6H9BBy

— Courtney Mares (@catholicourtney) October 17, 2023        View this post on Instagram            

A post shared by NMSU Catholic Campus Ministry (@nmsucatholic)

#peace#HolyLand
In a #Jerusalem without pilgrims, the Day of Fasting and Prayer for Peace desired by the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem begins at the #HolySepulcher pic.twitter.com/HyRHV6RMuy

— Custodia Terrae Sanctae (@custodiaTS) October 17, 2023

#Synod2023 Participants join Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, and all the Ordinaries of the Holy Land in a day of fasting, abstinence, and prayer for peace in Israel and Palestine.#ListeninigChurch #WalkingTogether #SacredSilence@clicktoprayapp pic.twitter.com/4AT5wyQnLu

— Synod.va (@Synod_va) October 17, 2023