Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, has addressed a letter to his entire diocese on October 5, 2025, in which he denounces the horrors of the war in Gaza and the West Bank, urges maintaining Christian hope, and calls, following the Pope’s appeal, for a day of fasting and prayer for peace on the coming Saturday, October 11.
In his message, the patriarch recalls the sufferings of the civilian population, forced displacements, hunger, lack of medicines and access to hospitals, as well as the dramatic situation of prisoners and those living in conditions of violence and oppression.
A war that strikes the most vulnerable
Patriarch Pizzaballa acknowledges that for two years the war has absorbed all the energies of the region, with particular cruelty in Gaza, where the population suffers bombings, hunger, and lack of hygiene. He also points out the difficult situation in the West Bank, where communities, especially in small towns, are harassed and suffocated by settlers without sufficient protection from the authorities.
The cardinal states that, despite the difficulties, a horizon of hope opens with the release of some hostages and prisoners, and with the possible cessation of hostilities. However, he warns that peace cannot be merely temporary or illusory: it must be based on justice and truth.
The mission of the Church: hope amid pain
In the letter, the patriarch emphasizes that the Church does not intend to offer a political or strategic analysis, but a word of faith and hope. In the face of violence, he recalls that the mission of Christians is to proclaim the Gospel, to stand firm in Christ, and to respond to hatred with the strength of love.
“Violence has devastated our territory and our human spirit,” he notes, adding that the images from Gaza have wounded the world’s conscience. However, he affirms that faith must withstand the test and that the cross of Christ is the definitive response to suffering.
Pizzaballa invites not to be swept away by resentment or narratives of revenge, but to live a spirituality of forgiveness and reconciliation, convinced that true peace will be born from the cross and the resurrection.
Day of fasting and prayer for peace
The Patriarch announces that, following the Pope’s invitation, on Saturday October 11, a day of fasting and prayer for peace will be celebrated throughout the local Church. He exhorts all parishes and religious communities to freely organize moments of prayer, Eucharistic adoration, recitation of the Rosary, and celebrations of the Word.
The day will coincide with the feast of the Virgin Mary, Queen of Palestine and Patroness of the Latin Patriarchate, on which the consecration of the Holy Land to her intercession will be renewed.