Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Rome (Agenzia Fides) - The residents of about 2500 cities around the world will pray for peace in the Land of Jesus on Sunday, January 29. On the Fourth International Day of intercession for peace in Holy Land, a prayer initiative born from the desire of some Catholic youth associations, in communion with the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the Holy Land will be held on this date. The Day will be preceded by the "Seventh Extraordinary prayer of all the Churches for Reconciliation, Unity and Peace", which will be held at the Coptic Orthodox Church of Jerusalem in the afternoon of January 28.
Since its first edition, the Day has involved many young people during the moments of Eucharistic adoration in churches of the 5 continents: in particular Cardinal Peter Turkson, President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, addresses his message in fact to the young: "Young people are and can be a resource for peace if they live their freedom in connection with the true, the good and God. Only in this way they can lay their deep-rooted commitment to justice and peace. (...) The period of youth is the season of life where you look with enthusiasm to the great values that today, unfortunately, seem to be very weak: truth, freedom, justice, love, brotherhood". To join the initiative, one must add to the Eucharistic celebration on Sunday 29 January, a special prayer for the Holy Land, or promote a moment of Eucharistic adoration at the end of the Mass. The time of the celebration, the name of the church or prayer group and the city shall be communicated by e-mail at ufficiostampa@papaboys.it.
The Day will be inaugurated by a celebration that will take place on January 29 at 5, Italian time, at the Calvary in Jerusalem. The Custodian of the Holy Land, Father Pierbattista Pizzaballa, has stressed that it is "an event that enriches this month of shared reflection on the Gift just received, and invites us to overcome every division to give thanks to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ (the theme for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity)". (SL) (Agenzia Fides 27/01/2012)
