Pope Leo XIV at his weekly general audience Wednesday said Friday August 22, the feast of Mary the Queen, will be a day of fasting and prayer for world peace by the faithful.
Leo, who has just returned to the Vatican from the cooler papal summer residence at the hilltown of Castel Gandolfo, said: "Next Friday, August 22, we will celebrate the memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary Queenship, who is also invoked as the Queen of Peace." The pope made an appeal: "While our land continues to be wounded by wars in the Holy Land, in Ukraine, and in many other regions of the world, I invite all the faithful to spend August 22 in fasting and prayer, beseeching the Lord to grant us peace and justice and to dry the tears of those who suffer from ongoing armed conflicts.
"May Mary, Queen of Peace, intercede so that people may find the path to peace."
