Pope Leo XIV calls for fasting and prayer for peace on Friday, Aug. 22
Pope Leo XIV prays during his Wednesday general audience on Aug. 13, 2025, in the Paul VI Audience Hall at the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican Media
ACI Prensa Staff, Aug 21, 2025 / 12:42 pm (CNA).
Pope Leo XIV has called for a day of fasting and prayer for peace on Friday, Aug. 22, coinciding with the liturgical feast of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
The Holy Father made the announcement Aug. 20 during his greeting to Italian-speaking pilgrims at the conclusion of the catechesis for the general audience, recalling that Our Lady, in addition to being queen, is “also invoked as Queen of Peace.”
“While our earth continues to be wounded by wars in the Holy Land, in Ukraine, and in many other regions of the world, I invite all the faithful to devote the day of Aug. 22 to fasting and prayer, imploring the Lord to grant us peace and justice and to dry the tears of those who suffer as a result of the ongoing armed conflicts,” the pontiff said.
“Mary, Queen of Peace, intercede so that peoples may find the path to peace,” he prayed.
On Tuesday evening at Castel Gandolfo, Leo XIV expressed his hope for a solution to the crisis of the war in Ukraine but emphasized the need to continue to “work hard, pray hard” for peace.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.