Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, has called for a day of fasting, abstinence and prayer for peace and reconciliation in the Holy Land.

The Cardinal, who is President of the Assembly of the Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land, has urged all parishes and religious communities to mark this day of prayer on Tuesday, October 17.

In his message, Cardinal Pizzaballa spoke of his great “pain and dismay” at what is happening in the Holy Land, saying we have been suddenly “catapulted into a sea of unprecedented violence.”  He went on to warn that the long-standing hatred in the region will increase even more and the ensuing spiral of violence will create more destruction.