PROSPECT HEIGHTS — When Pope Leo XIV invited the world’s Catholics to gather in their parishes to pray for peace, Bishop Robert Brennan further extended that invitation to Catholics in the Diocese of Brooklyn.
Prior to celebrating the Pro Vita Mass at the Co-Cathedral of St. Joseph on April 26, Bishop Brennan led the faithful in praying the glorious mysteries of the rosary in the hope of bringing peace to the world.
It was fitting that the prayer for peace took place in the Diocese of Brooklyn on the same day as a Mass celebrating the sanctity of life, according to Bishop Brennan, because “peace is a life issue.”
“If you’re talking about respect for life, praying for peace is part of that prayer for the dignity of life,” he told The Tablet. “And we think of the many, many people who were killed in the many wars around the world and in acts of terror and violence and oppression.”
The Holy Father announced a Global Day of Prayer for Peace during his Urbi et Orbi message at St. Peter’s Basilica on Easter Sunday as the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran raged on.
“Now joined in the prayer of the holy rosary, as we ask for the intercession of our Mother Mary,” Pope Leo XIV said during a Vatican vigil at St. Peter’s Basilica. “We wish to tell the whole world that it is possible to build peace, a new peace; that it is possible to live together with all peoples of every religion and every race, that we wish to be disciples of Jesus Christ, united as brothers and sisters, all united in a world of peace.”
Pope Leo’s condemnation of the war in Iran led to a tense back-and-forth between him and President Donald Trump via social media postings and statements.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) also urged the nation’s bishops to follow the pope’s lead and organize prayer vigils in their individual dioceses.
Archbishop Paul Coakley of Oklahoma City, president of the USCCB, asked the faithful to “pray ardently” for an end to the war in Iran.
In a recent letter to the faithful, Bishop Brennan said it is important to remember that praying for peace is not a political act, emphasizing that “the Holy Father speaks not as a politician but as a pastor.”