By Deborah Castellano Lubov
Pope Leo XIV’s monthly prayer intention for March is “for disarmament and peace.”
The Pope invited the Church to pray for this intention in this month’s The Pope Video, which is entrusted to the entire Catholic Church through the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network.
Pope Leo begins his prayer by recalling that the Lord has shaped every human being in His image and likeness and that He created us “for communion, not for war,” “for fraternity, not for destruction.”
True security and granting peace
You who greeted your disciples saying, “Peace be with you,” grant us the gift of your peace and the strength to make it a reality in history.
“Today,” Pope Leo said, “we lift up our prayer for peace in the world, asking that nations renounce weapons and choose the path of dialogue and diplomacy.”
He asked the Lord to help us “disarm our hearts of hatred, resentment, and indifference,” so we “may become instruments of reconciliation.”
“Help us understand,” he stressed, “that true security does not come from control fueled by fear, but from trust, justice, and solidarity among peoples.”
May nuclear threat never again dictate humanity’s future
The Pope also prayed the Lord may enlighten the leaders of the nations, “so they may have the courage to abandon projects of death, halt the arms race, and place the lives of the most vulnerable at the center.”
“May the nuclear threat never again,” he stated, “dictate the future of humanity.”
The Holy Father also prayed that the Holy Spirit make us faithful and creative builders of daily peace in our communities, families, cities, and hearts.
Finally, Pope Leo prayed that every kind word, every gesture of reconciliation, and every choice for dialogue be seeds of a new world.
The Pope Video
Pray with the Pope is an official global initiative with the purpose of disseminating the Holy Father’s monthly prayer intentions. It is carried out by the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network, a Pontifical Work entrusted to the Society of Jesus.
It was founded in 1844 as the Apostleship of Prayer. In Dec 2020, Pope Francis established this Pontifical Work as a Vatican Foundation and approved its final statutes in July 2024.
Since 2016, Pray with the Pope has had more than 247 million views across all the Vatican’s social networks and is translated into more than 23 languages, receiving press coverage in 114 countries.
The Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network focuses of mobilizing Catholics through prayer and action in response to the challenges facing humanity and the mission of the Church. – Vatican News
