Vatican calls for 7 October fast
search

The latest Jewish News

Read this week’s digital edition

Click Here

Vatican calls for 7 October fast

Pope and Latin Patriarch ask Catholics to fast and pray for peace

Jenni Frazer is a freelance journalist

Pope Francis calls on Catholics to pray for peace on 7 October
Pope Francis calls on Catholics to pray for peace on 7 October

In a plea echoed by the Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, the Pope asked Catholics throughout the world to mark the first anniversary of the 7 October massacre with fasting and prayer.

The Pope called for “a special day of prayer and fasting for peace”.

Speaking after Mass in St Peter’s Square in Vatican City, the Pope said: “In this dramatic hour of our history, while the winds of war and the fires of violence continue to devastate entire peoples and nations,” the Christian community was reminded of its call to “put itself at the service of humanity.”

The Pope had just opened the second session of the General Assembly of the Synod, a formal gathering of bishops of the Catholic Church.

Cardinal Nichols has asked priests and parishioners throughout the diocese to pray for peace today, 7 October, “in response to the increase of the intensity and scope of the conflict in Lebanon and Israel”.

The Pope’s call was echoed by Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, who said the day should be a day of prayer, penance and fasting for peace in the Holy Land. He spoke of the “need to pray, to bring our pain and our desire for peace to God”.

Because 7 October is also a Catholic feast — of Our Lady of the Rosary — people have been told they can mark the occasion with a public recitation of the rosary, either in addition to fasting or instead.

Support your Jewish community. Support your Jewish News

Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.

For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.

Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.

You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.

100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...

Engaging

Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.

Celebrating

There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.

Pioneering

In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.

Campaigning

Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.

Easy access

In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.

Voice of our community to wider society

The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.

We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.

read more: