VATICAN: Synod on Synodality: Pope Francis Calls for a Prayer and Fasting for Peace on October 7
Pope Francis
Sr. Jecinter Antoinette Okoth, FSSA
The Holy Father has called a worldwide day of prayer and fasting for peace to be held on Monday, October 7, the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary. This call coincides with the first anniversary of the Hamas terrorist attack in Israel where thousands of people were killed including children and the elderly.
Speaking after Mass in St Peter’s Square for the opening of the second session of the 16th General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on Wednesday, October 2, the Pope said, “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 asked all the synod delegates from across the globe attending the ongoing assembly, to accompany him on a visit to the Basilica of Saint Mary Major on Sunday, October 6, the eve of the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary saying he would “address a heartfelt petition to the Virgin” for peace.
The Holy Father urged the delegates that they walk together and listen to the Lord stressing, “Let us be led by the breeze of the Spirit.”
The Catholic Church marks the annual feast of Our Lady of the Rosary on October 7, and the feast day takes place in honour of a 16th-century naval victory that secured Europe against Turkish invasion.
Pope St. Pius V attributed the victory to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, who was invoked on the day of the battle through a campaign to pray the Rosary throughout Europe.
