Pray with the Pope

Each month Pope Leo invites us to enter into prayer with him and our global Church family.

Many of the issues that the Pope invites us to pray about are things that CAFOD is working with local experts across the world to address. From access to water, that everyone has enough food to eat, and respect for human life.

Join us each month as we unite our prayers with Pope Leo’s.

Take an Action

CAFOD works with communities around the world to build sustainable farming, protect the environment, and ensure everyone has access to good, nutritious food.

Fix the food system

Catholics across England and Wales have sent messages urging the government to rethink our global food system.

Make a donation

You can make a difference to people living in poverty by donating to CAFOD.

Each month Pope Leo invites us to enter into prayer with him and our global Church family.

Join us each month as we unite our prayers with Pope Leo’s.

The Pope's prayer for May

Let us pray that everyone, from large producers to small consumers, be committed to avoid wasting food, and to ensure that everyone has access to quality food.

Right now, millions of people still face hunger not because there isn’t enough food, but because the global food system is broken. Climate change, inequality and waste mean families like Hawa are often hit hardest.

From Earthworms to Abundance: A story of hope and a call to fix our food system

In a village in Bangladesh, where rising water and salty soil once made farming impossible, Hawa faced an uncertain future. Due to illness, her husband was unable to work. Their land could no longer grow crops. Feeding her family became a worry.

Through the Proyash Project, made possible by the hard work of the community and the generosity of supporters, she was introduced to an unexpected solution: earthworms. At first, Hawa was disheartened. How could something so small make any difference? But with training, support, and encouragement from her daughter, she began producing vermicompost, a natural fertiliser often called “black gold.”

Slowly, everything changed. Her soil came back to life. Vegetables began to grow again. What started as survival turned into stability and then into opportunity. Today, Hawa earns enough to support her family, send her children to school, and even expand her small business. Her neighbours are now following her lead, growing their own food and restoring their land.

This is what a fair and sustainable food system can look like. Communities empowered, waste transformed into nourishment, and families no longer going hungry.

Take an Action

CAFOD works with communities around the world to build sustainable farming, protect the environment, and ensure everyone has access to good, nutritious food.

Fix the food system

Catholics across England and Wales have sent messages urging the government to rethink our global food system.

Make a donation

You can make a difference to people living in poverty by donating to CAFOD.

The Pope's prayer for April

For priests in crisis

Let us pray for priests going through moments of crisis in their vocation, that they may find the accompaniment they need and that communities may support them with understanding and prayer.

Reflection

We pray for priests around the world who continue to serve their communities, despite the difficulties they face. Especially those who are affected by conflict.

Fr Vitaliy is a priest in Ukraine. He has worked with local homeless people since 2007. When the full invasion of Ukraine took place in 2022, Fr Vitaliy coordinated a group of volunteers to cycle round houses, providing emergency food and other support to families in need of help.

Speaking about what brings him hope, Fr Vitaliy shares:

“Volunteers are those who bring hope... a volunteer is first of all a person who goes out of his own comfort, to make comfort for others, who goes out from his own love to bring love to others, especially in the situations which are the hardest, which are the most painful.”

Find out more about our work in Ukraine

Read more about our work with Fr Vitaliy in Ukraine

For disarmament and peace

Let us pray that nations move toward effective disarmament, particularly nuclear disarmament, and that world leaders choose the path of dialogue and diplomacy instead of violence.

Pray for peace across the world

In a world filled with violence and conflict, we pray for peace across the world.

Use our prayer resources to pray for peace across the world.

Prayers for peace

The Pope’s prayer for February

For children with incurable diseases

Let us pray that children suffering from incurable diseases and their families receive the necessary medical care and support, never losing strength and hope.

When Pope Francis visited the Holy Land in 2014, he used a Popemobile. Throughout the conflict he kept in close contact with his priests working in Gaza, often speaking on a daily basis to them. In the final months before his death, Pope Francis asked that the Popemobile he used on that visit be transformed into a mobile clinic for children in Gaza who are injured, malnourished or don’t have access to healthcare.

Our local partner, Caritas Jerusalem hope that the mobile clinic will be able to enter Gaza soon and be used as the late Holy Father intended.

Lizzie Funnell, CAFOD’s Country Representative in the Middle East, shares why this 'vehicle of hope' is so important:

“Caritas Jerusalem are experts at providing high quality healthcare in Gaza where the health system has been decimated by the conflict. Alongside their clinics they have mobile medical teams who go into really vulnerable communities who couldn’t afford to travel to reach other healthcare services...and we hope that the Pope mobile will be able to enter Gaza and be part of those critical healthcare services soon.”

Middle East Humanitarian Appeal

CAFOD's partners are providing emergency supplies to people in urgent need. Read more about how you can help families survive this crisis with food, water, shelter and care.

For prayer with the Word of God

Let us pray that praying with the Word of God be nourishment for our lives and a source of hope in our communities, helping us to build a more fraternal and missionary Church.

In Mark’s Gospel, we hear Jesus being asked which of God’s commandments is the most important. Jesus answers:

"And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these. (Mark 12:30-31)

Today I pray that the Word of God may nourish and inspire me in my daily life. May I be moved to show my love for God and my love for my neighbour more deeply through all that I do.

Lent prayers

Ash Wednesday is on 18 February. Prepare for the season of Lent with our prayer and reflection resources for individuals, families and parishes.

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We all know the importance of prayer, and how powerful praying is. We invite you to pray with us each week as we reflect on the Word of God in the Sunday gospel.

Pray with the Pope

Take an Action

Pray with the Pope

The Pope's prayer for May

From Earthworms to Abundance: A story of hope and a call to fix our food system

Take an Action