Faithful called to fast, pray Oct. 17 for peace in Holy Land

By Gina Christian / OSV News

As war between Israel and Hamas rages, Catholics in the United States are heeding a call to pray and fast for peace in the Holy Land.

The patriarchs and heads of the churches of Jerusalem are urging “the people of our congregations and all those of goodwill around the world to observe a Day of Prayer and Fasting” on Oct. 17.

The efforts are “in support of all those who have suffered in this war and of the families reeling from the violence.”

On Oct. 7, Hamas militants stormed from the Gaza Strip into approximately 22 locations in Israel, gunning down civilians and taking at least 199 hostages, according to Israel, including infants, the elderly and people with disabilities.

The coordinated attack took place on a Sabbath that marked the final day of the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, which celebrates the gathering of the harvest and the divine protection of the ancient Israelites as they escaped from slavery in Egypt.

Israel declared war on Hamas Oct. 8, placing Gaza under siege and pounding the region with airstrikes. Hamas has continued to launch strikes against Israel. To date, some 1,400 in Israel, including at least 30 U.S. citizens, and more than 2,700 in Gaza have been killed. Israel placed Gaza under siege, and has warned some 1.1 million in Gaza to move south within the enclave ahead of an expected ground offensive by Israeli forces. So far, half a million in Gaza have heeded the evacuation order, according to the Israel Defense Forces, as United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said the Middle East is “on the verge of the abyss.”

“There is yet time to stop the hatred,” said the Jerusalem patriarchs and heads of churches.

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem – who has offered himself in exchange for the hostages – particularly urged “prayer times with Eucharistic adoration and with the recitation of the rosary to Our Blessed Virgin Mary.”

“This is the way we all come together despite everything, and unite collectively in prayer, to deliver to God the Father our thirst for peace, justice and reconciliation,” said Cardinal Pizzaballa in an Oct. 11 letter.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops posted to X, formally known as Twitter, that they “join Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, and all the Ordinaries of the Holy Land in calling for a day of fasting, abstinence and prayer” Oct. 17.