His Holiness Pope Francis has called for a day of prayer and fasting, on Friday, October 27, to implore peace for the Holy Land, and the whole world. This is the second appeal made by the Pope as the first was called on by His Beatitude Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, on October 17, to which all parishioners of the diocese as well as many dioceses of the world responded.

"…peace is above all a gift, a gift of God; it should be implored with unceasing prayer, sustained with patient and respectful dialogue, constructed with an open cooperation with truth and justice...,” said His Holiness during the Fifty-fourth World Day of Peace.

In response to the Pope's appeal, His Beatitude Cardinal Pizzaballa, as well as many Bishops, priests, and sisters, participated in the Way of the Cross devotion held in the Old City of Jerusalem, along with the Franciscan friars and the faithful. They meditated on the sorrows of Christ in every station, which led to the Cross of our salvation, imploring Him to give the people of this world peace, and put an end to the ongoing war. In addition, prayers and masses were held in various Latin parishes. In one accord, prayers were raised in hopes of reaching a just solution to the conflict that plagues the Holy Land.