‘May 7 October be a day of prayer, fasting and penance‘ was Pope Francis’ plea for peace and the initiative of Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Patriarch of the Latins of Jerusalem. Invitation accepted by the Custody of the Holy Land and Christians around the world. At the Angelus on Sunday 6 October, Pope Francis recalled the tragedy of 7 October 2023, making a strong appeal for peace. POPE FRANCIS Tomorrow it will be one year since the terrorist attack against the people in Israel, to whom I renew my sympathy. Let us not forget that there are still many hostages in Gaza, for whom I call for their immediate release. Since that day, the Middle East has plunged into ever greater suffering, with destructive military actions that continue to affect the Palestinian population. This population is suffering so much in Gaza and the other territories. These are mostly innocent civilians, all of whom must receive all the humanitarian aid they need. I call for an immediate ceasefire on all fronts, including Lebanon. On Sunday evening in the Basilica of St Mary Major, the Holy Father presided over the recitation of the Holy Rosary to invoke the intercession of the Mother of God. He called Christians to unite with the power of Good against the diabolic plots that lead to war. H B Card PIERBATTISTA PIZZABALLA Patriarch of Jerusalem of the Latins It is an adhesion extended to the whole world, to so many churches, responding also to the Holy Father's appeal. They all join together to pray and intercede for peace. We are convinced that peace will not come immediately, things will not change immediately. But prayer, penance will help us, especially us believers, to remain as free as possible in the face of this enormous situation of violence, hatred and revenge. And to always remain convinced witnesses that peace is possible. The Patriarch also tells us about the challenge of the church and Christians in the Holy Land. H B Card PIERBATTISTA PIZZABALLA Patriarch of Jerusalem of the Latins The challenge right now, especially in war zones, is for war to end. Because war creates victims, it creates hunger, it creates destruction, shameful situations, humiliation of people's lives. So this must end. That is the main challenge. To try to remain steadfast, in some circumstances even to remain alive. And always maintain unity between the various communities, with all these divisions we have, both political and physical, and always remain anchored in the word of God. First of all, I would like to express my thanks to all those who unite in prayer, which is the most beautiful form of solidarity and closeness, and then I would like to say to continue to pray and work for peace in the Holy Land and in the world. In the afternoon, together with the Patriarch, the religious authorities and representatives of the different religious communities of the Holy Land, recited the prayer of Vespers with adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. The prayer at St Saviour's was presided over by Fra. Francesco Patton, Custos of the Holy Land. With this public gesture, joined by numerous faithful, the Custody wished to respond to the invitation of the Patriarch and the Pope. Each Mystery of the Rosary was introduced by a short reading and prayer intention. Before the singing of the Lauretan Litany, the Custos read out Pope Francis' “Letter to the Catholics of the Middle East”. Br FRANCESCO PATTON, ofm Custos of the Holy Land The Pope sent this message today to Christians living in the Middle East, in the Holy Land. To remind them that the most powerful instrument to obtain the gift of peace is precisely the instrument of prayer and fasting. It is an instrument that belongs to our Christian tradition, to the Jewish tradition, to the Muslim tradition. So it is a universal tool and I believe it should be valued much more. Both to awaken within us the awareness of how important the gift of peace is, and to keep in mind that the gift of peace comes from God. One of the short readings that was in the Rosary recalled that Jesus is our peace, because by dying on the cross he demolished enmity. The Custos of the Holy Land also speaks about the Franciscan vocation in the Middle East. Br FRANCESCO PATTON, ofm Custos of the Holy Land Our vocation is to stand by the people, to stand by what we consider to be, as the Pope also says, the people of God, and to share with them the good times when they are there, the difficult times when they arise. There were several prayer initiatives in the Holy Land on 7 October, such as the one that took place in the Basilica of the Annunciation and in Bethlehem. Br RAMI ASAKHRIE, ofm Latin priest of Bethlehem Today we hear the cries of the people of Gaza and Lebanon and their tragedies. And unfortunately we cannot help them in any way. We are united with them spiritually and say to them: they can take everything from you, but as long as your heart is full of faith and your soul is full of hope and faith in God who is capable of everything, then you will be comforted. I ask God that the war ends as soon as possible and that God gives us peace. Br WOJCIECH BOLOZ, ofm Guardian of the Basilica of the Annunciation The religious from Nazareth and the surrounding area also participated. It was a somewhat intense day, but also a beautiful day, because we were praying in this very place, in this land, and experiencing these moments that were also somewhat difficult and hard. Prayer is a time of hope and joy, which also gives us the strength not to lose faith, but to unite ourselves closer to Jesus Christ, our Saviour, the Lord and King of Peace. H E Mgr RAFIK NAHRA Latin Patriarchal Vicar in Israel May our prayer not be just one day! It is not because today the Pope invited us to pray also the Patriarch, but to persevere in prayer. This prayer, when we do it and remain in it, transforms us from within, because it is not a magical act, as if God did not hear us. God hears our prayer, but He also wants to transform us. Therefore, we want to persevere in this prayer, united together with Mary, our Mother, and continue to pray to obtain the grace of peace for our country.