After holding the Mass for the opening of the second session of the General Assembly of the Synod in St. Peter’s Square, Pope Francis called for a day of praying and fasting for peace on October 7. The day is the first anniversary of the large-scale terrorist attack against Israeli citizens carried out by Hamas and the start of the Israeli-Hamas war. The Pope said that,

“In this dramatic hour of our history, while the winds of war and the fires of violence continue to devastate entire peoples and nations,” the Christian community is reminded of its call to “put itself at the service of humanity.

He then addressed the synod members and asked them to join him on October 6 for prayer for peace in the Basilica of Saint Mary Major. With his appeal, Pope Francis continues a long tradition going back to the early days of his papacy. Shortly after his inauguration, thousands of people gathered for the call of the Pope in St. Peter’s Square to pray for peace in Syria. In 2017, he also called for a day of prayer and fasting for peace in the DRC and South Sudan; in 2020, after the Beirut blast, for Lebanon; and in 2021, for Afghanistan, he called for the same. After the breakout of the Russian-Ukrainian war in 2022, he consecrated Ukraine and Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

Source: Vatican News