Overview

• Leo made the call at the close of his Aug. 20 general audience, his first day back at the Vatican after time at Castel Gandolfo.
• He asked Catholics and other faithful to fast and pray on Friday, seeking peace and justice and relief for those suffering in ongoing wars.
• The date coincides with the Church’s commemoration of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and he invoked Mary as Queen of Peace.
• The appeal continues his early papacy’s focus on ceasefires and dialogue, with outreach that has included a May phone call and a July meeting with Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky and ongoing contacts about the war.
• On Thursday he reiterated his message at Italy’s Meeting for Friendship Among Peoples, urging nonviolence, mediation efforts and practical works of welcome.