A day to pray and fast, a sobering list of names and possible papal trip
- nhaught
- Aug 21
- 2 min read
This morning’s search online revealed Pope Leo XIV calling on all Catholics for a day of fasting and prayer for peace on Friday, Aug. 22, only a few days after an Italian cardinal spent seven hours reading aloud the names Israeli and Gazan children who have died in that two-year conflict and as Vatican officials consider Lebanon as the destination for the new pope’s first foreign trip.
At the end of his general audience on Thursday, Leo asked that people of faith observe the feast of the queenship of Mary by seeking her help in achieving peace.
“Our world continues to be wounded by wars in the Holy Land, in Ukraine and in many other regions of the world,” he said, suggesting that Catholics ask “the Lord to grant us peace and justice and to dry the tears of those who suffer because of the armed conflicts underway.”
Read an account of his remarks published by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
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The National Catholic Reporter noted that Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, head of the Italian Bishops’ Conference, read aloud the names of children who had died between Oct. 7, 2023 and July 25, 2025. In a prayer service before the Feast of the Assumption, Zuppi and dozens of people from his diocese read aloud 16 Israeli names and 12,211 Palestinian names. The list was 469 pages long.
“We pronounce their names one by one,” he said. “They ask us all to commit ourselves to finding or pursuing the path to peace with greater intelligence and passion, starting with a ceasefire and offering the conditions for doing so, from the release of hostages to not taking an entire people hostage.”
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Finally, Catholic leaders in Lebanon said their country might be the destination of Leo’s first international trip, perhaps by the end of the year.
BBC notes that Lebanon is “home to more than two million Catholics.” The country is diverse religiously and carries “symbolic weight for the Church.” A visit to Lebanon would bring Leo closer to the Israel-Palestine conflict.
“Everybody is talking to Israel but Israel doesn’t listen,” said Archbishop Paul Sayah, a member of Lebanon’s Catholic leadership. “Netanyahu doesn’t seem to listen a lot, but the more [leaders speak], the better.”
