His Holiness Pope Leo XIV’s December Prayer Intention: ‘For Christians in areas of conflict’

His Holiness Pope Leo XIV releases his Prayer intention for the month of December, and invites the faithful to pray that Christians living in the midst of war may be seeds of peace.

By Devin Watkins

As he prepares to depart on his Apostolic Journey to Türkiye and Lebanon, Pope Leo XIV released The Pope Video on Wednesday to accompany his Prayer intention for December, which is for “Christians living in areas of conflict.”

“Let us pray that Christians living in areas of war or conflict, especially in the Middle East, might be seeds of peace, reconciliation, and hope,” he said in the video.

The Pope then offered a Prayer to the God of Peace that Christians surrounded by pain may feel the “gentle kindness of your presence and the Prayers of their brothers and sisters in faith.”

He prayed that God may help them strengthen fraternal bonds and become seeds of reconciliation that build hope and bridges of justice and mercy.

Pope Leo invited all Christians to pray that we may never grow indifferent to the suffering of other Christians, but rather that we may be builders of unity.

‘Unshakable faith even amid rubble’

The Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network, which produces the monthly Pope Video with Vatican Media, released a communique linking the Prayer intention with his visit to Türkiye and Lebanon.

Even as the Middle East faces instability, Christian communities continue to safeguard the faith, serve the poor, and work together with people of other Churches and faiths to build bridges of coexistence.

“According to Aid to the Church in Need’s Religious Freedom Report 2025,” noted the statement, “the number of conflicts in the Middle East and the socio-economic conditions there expose religious minorities, and Christians in particular, to a condition of extreme vulnerability”…

This report was originally published on the Website of Vatican News. Please click here to read the full text.