The nine-day special prayer for Ukraine will end today, following Pope Francis’ invite to bishops, priests and ordinary faithful around the world to join him in the consecration prayer.
Bishop Stephen Lee from the Macau Diocese announced that, from March 20 to 28, the prayer for peace in light of the war in Ukraine that was recently shared by Pope Francis will be recited in all parishes after public Masses, “imploring God to forgive us for war.”
“God help Ukraine and make people realise peace is the way,” a member of the community prayed during the prayer session yester morning.
On Friday, Pope Francis prayed for peace in Ukraine in a ceremony that harked back to a century-old apocalyptic prophecy about peace and Russia that was sparked by purported visions of the Virgin Mary to three peasant children in Fatima, Portugal, in 1917.
Francis entered St. Peter’s Basilica before an estimated 3,500 people on Friday and concluded with Francis sitting alone before a statue of the Madonna. There, he solemnly asked forgiveness that humanity had “forgotten the lessons learned from the tragedies of the last century, the sacrifice of the millions who fell in two World Wars.”
“Free us from war, protect our world from the menace of nuclear weapons,” he prayed.
The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has twice spoken with Pope Francis over the telephone, and the conversation took place as the war – described by the Pope on Sunday as “inhuman” and “sacrilegious” – continued to escalate.
In a tweet about the phone call, Zelenskyy wrote that he “told His Holiness about the difficult humanitarian situation and the blocking of rescue corridors by Russian troops.”
The Ukrainian President also thanked the Pope for his prayers for Ukraine and his efforts for peace, after noting that the “mediating role of the Holy See in ending human suffering would be appreciated.”
According to the Ukainian Ambassador, Zelensky told the Pope, “His Holiness is the most awaited guest in Ukraine.”
On February 26, two days after the Russian invasion, Pope Francis expressed to the president of Ukarine “his deepest sorrow for the tragic events that are taking place in your country.” JW
