Portuguese Catholics pray for peace in Ukraine

On Sunday, February 20, 2022, in Fatima, Cardinal Antonio Marto called on Portuguese Catholics to pray for peace in Ukraine, emphasizing that before the threat of war, "we must awaken from indifference," the UGCC Information Department reports.

During the mass that the apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Leiria-Fatima celebrated in the sanctuary of the Virgin in Fatima, Cardinal Antonio Marto noted that in the modern world marked by the threat of war, one should wake up from indifference, apathy, mental fatigue and discouragement, which can lead to fatalism.

"Sometimes we think that only people who have economic, financial or political power can change the world. But God counts on the small and humble, on the power of faith in his mercy, on the testimony of conversion and compassion, on the power of prayer for the renewal of the world. We are called to look to the future with confidence, restoring relations between people and peoples, like Good Samaritans who care for the wounded and help heal the wounds of our time," the cardinal said in his sermon.

"From this sanctuary of peace, I call on you present here and all Catholics in the country to start this week a chain of rosary prayers, personally, family or community, for peace in Ukraine," Cardinal Antonio Marto urged Catholics in Portugal.

This Sunday, Fatima hosted celebrations marking the liturgical celebrations of Saints Francisco and Jacinta Marto, visionaries from Fatima.