26 January: Day of Prayer for Peace in Ukraine

Pope Francis has asked that Wednesday, the 26th of January, be a day of special prayer for peace regarding the situation in Ukraine.

In his Angelus address on Sunday the 23rd of January, Pope Francis called for a day of prayer for peace on Wednesday 26 January, expressing his concern over the increasing tensions in the Ukraine situation.

At the conclusion of the Angelus, Pope Francis recalled yesterday’s beatification, in San Salvador, of Jesuit Father Rutilio Grande García and two lay companions, and Franciscan Father Cosme Spessotto, martyrs for the faith. The Pope praised their witness in standing by the poor, bearing witness to the Gospel, to truth, and to justice, even to the point of shedding their own blood.

Finally, he recalled that in this Week of Prayer for Christian Unity he has accepted a widely supported proposal and proclaimed St Irenaeus of Lyon a Doctor of the Universal Church. He said the teaching of this shepherd saint and teacher is like a bridge between East and West, and this is why we call him a Doctor of Unity, Doctor Unitatis. He asked that the Lord grant us, through his intercession, to work all together for the full unity of Christians.

Rome Reports / Vatican News