Pope Francis has called for a world day of prayer, fasting and penance on Friday 27 October "to implore peace in our time, peace in this world. I ask all the particular Churches to participate by arranging similar activities involving the People of God.” Thus said the Pope at the General Audience on 18 October. The movement adheres to the Holy Father's appeal: CL communities are invited to participate and get involved in the initiatives that will be proposed in parishes and dioceses. " The possible widening of the conflict is disturbing,” the Pope added, “while so many war fronts are already open in the world. May weapons fall silent! Let us heed the cry for peace of populations, of the people, of the children! Brothers and sisters, war does not solve any problem: it sows only death and destruction, foments hate and proliferates revenge. War cancels out the future. I urge believers to take just one side in this conflict: that of peace. But not with words — with prayer, with total dedication.”

To learn more about the reasons for declaring October 27 a Day for Peace, we invite you to propose reading the letter of Cardinal Pierbattista Piazzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, to his diocese.

Friday 27 follows the day of fasting on Tuesday 17 October, proclaimed by Pizzaballa himself, who had called for prayer, fasting and penance for peace and reconciliation after the outbreak of the Hamas-Israel war. Communion and Liberation had also adhered to that invitation. "In expressing our heartfelt closeness to the many innocent people who are experiencing moments of tremendous sorrow and death, and without forgetting the responsibility of those who attack," said Davide Prosperi, President of the Fraternity of CL, "we feel all the more provoked to become aware of the fact that man is incapable to himself and that only God can give true peace.” He added: “Anchored in the infinite love that Christ–who was born in that very land which is now in such distress–gave to every human being as a path to fulfillment, let us offer to Him in prayer each of our small but necessary attempts to build places of dialogue and fraternity, as Francis asks us to do.”