Catholics of Europe prayed for Ukraine on September 14

In response to the call of His Grace Gintaras Grušas, Archbishop of Vilnius and Chairman of the Council of the Bishops' Conferences of Europe, on Wednesday, September 14, the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, the Day of Prayer for Peace in Ukraine was held in Europe.

According to the Council Secretariat's message, individual episcopates of the continent have prepared appropriate manuals for the prayer initiative. The most common form of prayer chosen is the Eucharistic adoration. Pastors and faithful will kneel before the Most Holy Sacrament, begging the Lord for peace for Ukraine. In this way, they take to heart the call of Pope Francis, who asked everyone to "be peacemakers and pray that thoughts and projects of harmony and reconciliation will spread in the world."

European bishops have repeatedly united their voice with that of the Pope, calling for weapons to be silenced, war to be ended, and efforts to promote peace to be made. They called on heads of state and the international community to do everything in their power to end the ongoing war, which is destroying lives and causing untold suffering. Also, the current Great-Lent prayer initiative, in which each episcopate served a Eucharistic service on a certain day, was dedicated to prayer for the victims of the war in Ukraine and peace.

It should be noted that the Conference of Roman Catholic Bishops of Ukraine declared 2022 the Year of the Holy Cross in Ukraine, which closed on September 14. On this occasion, on the European Day of Prayer for Ukraine, the episcopate of the Roman Catholic Church in Ukraine gathered at the sanctuary of the passion of the Lord in Shargorod, Vinnytsia region, where it celebrated a solemn Holy Mass.