ROME, org. “Peace is a gift of God, but requires our efforts. Let us be people of peace in prayer and deed. #weprayforpeace,” said Pope Francis in his tweet yesterday. On Sunday at 18.15 Roman time, the Vatican Gardens will host a historic meeting: the presidents of Israel and Palestine, Simon Peres and Mahmoud Abbas, will pray together with Pope Francis and Patriarch Bartholomew to pray for peace in the Middle East. They will not be alone: throughout the world, millions of believers from the three religions of the Book and many other men and women of good will pray for an end to the violence. Hundreds of Schoenstatt members will unite themselves from their shrines and home shrines at the same time. In the Original Shrine, there will be a prayer for peace an hour later.
Fr. Pierbattista Pizzaballa OFM, the custodian of the Holy Land, and Fr. Federico Lombardi SJ, the head of the Press Office at the Holy See, provided details of the proceedings of the “Call for Peace” to which Pope Francis invited the presidents of Israel and Palestine this Sunday at the Vatican.
Peres and Abbas will arrive at the Vatican within minutes of each other (the first will arrive at 18.15 and the second at 18.30). The Holy Father will receive each them at the entrance to Santa Marta and will speak briefly to each of them. Once in Santa Marta, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholemew will join the two presidents and the Holy Father and from there the four will be driven to the Vatican Gardens where the celebration will begin with a musical opening and an explanation of the proceedings in English. The prayers will follow the chronological order of the three religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
At 7pm, the Jewish community will begin with a prayer in Hebrew (creation), a brief musical interval, a prayer asking for forgiveness, followed by a second musical peace, a prayer calling for peace, and finally a musical meditation. The Christian community will follow the same program except that the first prayer will be in English, the second in Italian and the third in Arabic. Finally, the Muslim community will follow suit using Arabic.
After this, a reader will introduce the last part of the celebration in English which will start with an intervention by Pope Francis, calling for peace. Afterwards the Pope will invite each of the presidents to make their own prayers. Shimon Peres will begin, followed by Mahmoud Abbas. In a gesture of peace, which Patriarch Bartholomew will participate, they will take one another’s and then the Pope will join them in planting an olive tree as a symbol of peace.
After the celebration, the four will remain side by side as the delegations pass by to greet them. Then the Holy Father, the two presidents and the Patriarch will go to Casina Pio IV to speak in private.
Finally, the Peres and Abbas will leave the Vatican while the Holy Father the Patriarch will return to Casa de Santa Marta.
At this hour, Pope Francis, Patriarch Bartholomew, President Shimon Peres and President Mahmoud Abbas have come together to pray for peace. Let us join spiritually with them for the next hour to also pray for peace.