Live Update 
From the Liveblog of
Wednesday, August 20, 2025
From the Liveblog of
Wednesday, August 20, 2025
Pope Leo calls for day of fasting, prayers for peace in ‘Holy Land,’ Ukraine on Friday
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Pope Leo XIV gestures during his weekly audience at the Paul VI hall in the Vatican on August 20, 2025. (Photo by Alberto PIZZOLI / AFP)
Pope Leo has asked Catholics and other religious faithful to observe a day of fasting and prayers for peace in the Holy Land, Ukraine and other war-torn countries on Friday, August 22.
“As our Earth continues to be wounded by wars in the Holy Land, in Ukraine, and in many other regions… I invite all the faithful to live the day of August 22 in fasting and prayer,” the pontiff says during his weekly audience at the Vatican.
Leo suggests the faithful could ask God to “grant us peace and justice and to wipe away the tears of those who suffer because of the ongoing armed conflicts.”
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