UISG – ‘Pray and fast for peace’

On 14 August 2025, the eve of the Feast of the Assumption of Mary, the International Union of Superiors General proposes

a Day of Prayer and Fasting for Peace,

invoking the intercession of the Mother of God, Our Lady of Peace,

to which all religious communities and those who wish to join are invited.

“In a world torn apart by war and inhumanity – in Gaza, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ukraine, Myanmar, Syria, Haiti and so many other countries wounded by visible and invisible conflicts – we cannot remain silent spectators. Every day we see faces marked by pain, lives destroyed, peoples deprived of dignity and peace, especially women and children,‘ is the motivation expressed in the Statement.

‘As women of hope, rooted in faith and immersed in the wounds of our time, we feel a deep need to raise our voices and unite our hearts.

As women on the frontiers, walking alongside those who suffer, listening to the cry of the poor and of the earth, we have a responsibility to build communion, protect life and demand justice.

For this reason, we invite you, in a spirit of communion and evangelical co-responsibility, to join us in

a collective act of prayer, discernment and witness,

so that peace may not only be hoped for, but built.

Let us entrust ourselves to her, that she may respond with tenderness to the cries of the peoples and teach us how to be a humble and prophetic presence in places of suffering.

In particular, women religious are invited to:

• Promote moments of prayer and reflection on the Word within communities, in light of the current suffering in the world, allowing ourselves to be transformed interiorly.
• Engage with civil and ecclesial authorities in their respective countries, urging them to open paths of reconciliation, disarmament, defence of human rights and protection of victims.
• Support concrete acts of global solidarity through networks of humanitarian aid, welcome and prophetic witness in favour of the most affected peoples.

“As women who watch through the night, we continue to believe that even in the darkest hour, a light can still shine: the light of the Gospel, of justice and of fraternity. Together, let us invoke the God of peace, that we may become instruments of his love, and let us entrust this journey to the intercession of Mary, our Mother of hope”.