Archbishop Lori will celebrate vigil for peace

After President Donald Trump issued an ultimatum to Iran earlier this week that threatened a “whole civilization will die” if certain conditions were not met, Archbishop William E. Lori announced he will celebrate a Vigil for Peace at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in Homeland April 11 at 6 p.m.

In this time of “profound worldwide concern,” Archbishop Lori, in a statement, also asked parishes of the Archdiocese of Baltimore to host a time of prayer before the Blessed Sacrament or other suitable vigil the weekend of April 11-12 to be a “sign and instrument of Christ’s peace.”

The archbishop’s requests follow Archbishop Paul S. Coakley’s desire to echo Pope Leo XIV’s call “for peace in this moment of grave global tension.” Archbishop Coakley is the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. 

“We are reminded that the deliberate targeting of civilians and the escalation of war can never be morally justified,” Archbishop Lori said. “As Archbishop Coakley has rightly urged, there is another path – the path of dialogue, restraint and the hard but necessary work of peace.”

The church, Archbishop Lori said, is an “instrument of Christ’s peace in a wounded world.”

“In the face of fear, division and violence, we must become witnesses to a different way – the way of prayer, solidarity and sacrificial love,” Archbishop Lori said. “Let our churches become places of light in a darkened world – where the cry for peace rises to heaven, where hearts are softened and where hope is rekindled.”

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