Presidents of Israel and Palestine to pray together for peace on 8 June

The head of the Press Office of the Holy See, Fr Federico Lombardi has confirmed that the invitation to pray together for peace in the Vatican, that Pope Francis extended during his Apostolic Journey to the Holy Land to the Presidents of Israel and Palestine, has been accepted. Presidents Shimon Peres and Mahmoud Abbas plan to visit Pope Francis at the Vatican next Sunday afternoon, 8 June 2014.

The invitation of Pope Francis came after the recitation of the Regina Coeli following the celebration of Mass in Manger Square, Bethlehem, on the morning of Sunday May 25, 2014. On that occasion Pope Francis said: “In this, the birthplace of the Prince of Peace, I wish to invite you, President Mahmoud Abbas, together with President Shimon Peres, to join me in heartfelt prayer to God for the gift of peace. I offer my home in the Vatican as a place for this encounter of prayer.

"All of us want peace. Many people build it day by day through small gestures and acts; many of them are suffering, yet patiently persevere in their efforts to be peacemakers. All of us – especially those placed at the service of their respective peoples – have the duty to become instruments and artisans of peace, especially by our prayers.

"Building peace is difficult, but living without peace is a constant torment. The men and women of these lands, and of the entire world, all of them, ask us to bring before God their fervent hopes for peace.”

Source: Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem