On 23 February, the first Friday of Lent, a Day of Prayer and Fasting for Peace will be celebrated, especially for South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Syria.
The initiative was launched by Pope Francis during the Angelus on Sunday 4 February, proposing it also to the Christians of the other Churches and to the followers of other religions, "in ways that they deem most appropriate, but all together".
Already last November a prayer ceremony was organized at the Vatican to gather faithful Catholics from different countries, all called by the Pope to pray for peace in the warring nations.
Last January, the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development organized a Round Table with the religious missionaries of those countries, the Union of Superiors General, International Union of Superiors General (USG, UISG) and with members of associations and representatives of the academic world to raise awareness on the urgency to build peace through concrete reconciliation actions.