Pope calls for prayer for peace, creation
August 31, 2026
Pope Leo XIV renewed his call for prayer for peace and also called for prayer and action on behalf of creation as the Season of Creation approaches.
“Let us continue to pray for peace,” Pope Leo said in Castel Gandolfo at the conclusion of his August 30 Angelus address (video, 13:02). “Saint Augustine, whose feast we celebrated a few days ago, said that peace ‘is like the miraculous bread multiplied in the hands of the disciples as they broke it and distributed it.’ May there be an increase in the world of those who courageously break and share the bread of peace, overcoming divisions, promoting justice and practicing forgiveness for the good of all.”
Departing from the typical Italian, the Pope then said in English:
On Tuesday, we celebrate the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation. This marks the beginning of the Season of Creation—observed by Christians of various denominations—whose theme this year is “Living Water.”
As I recalled in the Message for this Day, caring for our common home calls for a conversion of heart, so that what has been used to bring about destruction may instead be directed toward life. I invite everyone to join in prayer and action, that we may become channels of the living water of God’s peace, refreshing our wounded world.
In 2015, Pope Francis established September 1 as the annual World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation in the Catholic Church. In establishing the day, Pope Francis acknowledged his debt to the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, which has observed September 1, the beginning of its liturgical year, as a similar day of prayer since 1989.
The Season of Creation, an ecumenical initiative, begins on September 1 and concludes on October 4, the memorial of St. Francis of Assisi.
After greeting various groups of pilgrims, the Pope then thanked “the law enforcement agencies and all those who have helped to enable my summer stay here in Castel Gandolfo, as well as those responsible for security during my meetings with the pilgrims.”
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