Lenten campaign 2026
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The Diocese of Rome has announced a new monthly initiative dedicated to prayer for peace, responding to the appeal of Pope Leo XIV and his call for a peace that is “unarmed and disarming.”
The program began January 26, 2026, and will continue through April, with gatherings held on the last Monday of each month at 7:30 p.m. The location is the Basilica of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, one of the city’s most historically resonant churches. The invitation is open to parishes, ecclesial movements, families, and individual faithful.
The announcement follows the Pope’s message for the World Day of Peace 2026, in which he pointed to the peace of the Risen Christ as the model for Christian life. That peace, he wrote, emerged within real historical, political, and social conditions and rejected violence as a path forward. Christians today, he added, are called to bear witness to this vision together, mindful of the tragedies in which believers have sometimes been complicit.
In a statement released on January 5, Cardinal Baldassare Reina, Vicar General of His Holiness for the Diocese of Rome, framed the initiative as a response to a world shaped by war, injustice, and widespread human suffering. The Diocese is entrusting to God the pain of innocent victims, the grief of those who mourn, and the expectations of people waiting for justice and reconciliation.
The year 2026 also carries particular weight for the Church. It marks the 800th anniversary of the death of St. Francis of Assisi, whose life continues to influence Christian approaches to peace, poverty, and fraternity. The Diocese explicitly connects the prayer journey to Francis’ enduring appeal to become instruments of peace, understood as a concrete way of living the Gospel in a divided world.
Prayer as foundation of work
The monthly meetings are promoted by the Diocesan Missionary Center and the Office for Social and Labor Pastoral Care, working in collaboration with Pax Christi, the international Catholic movement committed to nonviolence and reconciliation. Organizers describe the gatherings as moments of communal prayer shaped by attentiveness to global conflicts and local responsibilities.
Cardinal Reina stressed that peace requires more than statements of intent. He pointed to sustained commitment, patient work, and a spirit of care as necessary conditions for building concord among peoples. According to the Diocese, prayer serves as the foundation for this effort, forming consciences and encouraging action rooted in justice.
With this initiative, Rome is placing prayer at the center of its pastoral response to contemporary conflict. The Diocese’s message is direct: peace grows where faith is lived consistently, month after month, through shared responsibility and hope.
