Pope Leo XIV had announced that 2026 is a Jubilee Year of St. Francis, to commemorate the 800th anniversary of the saint’s death.
The Holy Father has offered this prayer for the occasion:
Pray for the gift of peace for all those facing conflict.
Use our prayer resources to pray for the care of the earth, our common home.
Saint Francis, our brother, you who eight hundred years ago
went to meet Sister Death as a man at peace,
intercede for us before the Lord.
You recognised true peace in the Crucifix of San Damiano,
teach us to seek in Him the source of all reconciliation
that breaks down every wall.
You who, unarmed, crossed the lines of war
and misunderstanding,
give us the courage to build bridges
where the world raises up boundaries.
In this time afflicted by conflict and division,
intercede for us so that we may become peacemakers:
unarmed and disarming witnesses of the peace that comes from Christ.
Amen
