His Holiness Pope Leo XIV Recalls Many Middle East Christians Who Suffer with Christ During Holy Week
Pope Leo XIV celebrates Palm Sunday Mass in the Vatican (@Vatican Media)
His Holiness Pope Leo XIV decries the fact that many Christians in the Middle East will be unable to celebrate Holy Week rites, urging everyone to remember the many people who share in Christ's suffering as the Church contemplates the Mystery of the Lord's Passion.
By Deborah Castellano Lubov
"Precisely as the Church contemplates the mystery of the Lord’s Passion, we cannot forget those who today truly share in His suffering."
His Holiness Pope Leo XIV made this observation at the conclusion of his Palm Sunday Mass in the Vatican.
He drew the Church's attention to the plight of Christians in the Middle East, saying their "trial calls upon the conscience of all."
"At the beginning of Holy Week, we are closer than ever in prayer to the Christians of the Middle East, who suffer the consequences of a terrible conflict and in many cases cannot fully live the rites of these holy days," he said.
The Pope invited the faithful to join him in raising their supplication to the Prince of Peace, "that He may sustain peoples wounded by war and open concrete paths of reconciliation and peace."
Before reciting the midday Angelus prayer, the Pope entrusted to the Lord seafarers who are victims of war, saying he prays for the deceased, the wounded, and their families…
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