Pope Francis

On the occasion of today’s Day of prayer for peace in the Middle East, I invite everyone to implore God’s mercy and peace in that region, where the Christian faith was born and is alive, despite the suffering.

Today, in proximity to the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul, I ask you to pray for the Pope. Pray in a special way: the Pope needs your prayers!

With the Bishops of Myanmar I plead that humanitarian corridors be allowed and that churches, pagodas, monasteries, mosques, temples, schools and hospitals be respected as neutral places of refuge. May the Heart of Christ touch the hearts of all bringing peace to Myanmar!

I am especially close to the population of the Tigray region in Ethiopia, struck by a grave humanitarian crisis that could expose the poorest people to famine. Let us pray together that the violence may cease immediately, that food and heath assistance be guaranteed to everyone, and that social harmony be restored as soon as possible.

I join the Canadian Bishops and the whole Catholic Church in Canada in expressing my closeness to the Canadian people. We commend to the Lord the souls of all the children who have died in the Canadian residential schools, and we pray for the grief-stricken indigenous families and communities of Canada.

Let us pray together for the victims of the massacre that took place in a village of Burkina Faso. I am close to the family members and all the Burkinabé people suffering greatly because of these repeated attacks. Africa needs peace, not violence!

This coming 1 July I will meet in the Vatican with the principal leaders of the Christian communities present in Lebanon. I entrust this intention to the intercession of the Mother of God, deeply venerated at the Shrine of Harissa, and from this moment on I ask you to accompany the preparation for this event with supportive prayer, invoking for that beloved country a more peaceful future.

On the Feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Help of Christians, let us pray together for our dear brothers and sisters in China. May the Holy Spirit guide and help them to be bearers of the happy message, witnesses of charity, and builders of justice and peace in their country.

Let us pray for the populations of the city of Goma, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, forced to flee due to the eruption of the great volcano, Mount Nyiragongo.

Let us pray together for the situation in Colombia, which continues to be worrying. I exhort everyone to avoid, for humanitarian reasons, behaviours that are damaging for the population in exercising the right to peaceful protest.