Mission
It is dedicated specifically to the Christian minorities who live in the midst of war. Photo: The Pope Video
On the eve of his departure for Türkiye and Lebanon, the Pope invites us to pray for Christian communities who live in war-torn or conflict zones. Leo XIV invites them to not feel abandoned and to be “seeds of peace, reconciliation and hope.” He then asks all Christians in the world “to not fall into indifference” and to be “builders of unity.”
(ZENIT News / Vatican City, 11.26.2025).- On the eve of Pope Leo XIV’s departure for his first apostolic journey to Türkiye and Lebanon, The Pope Video for December is being released. It is dedicated specifically to the Christian minorities who live in the midst of war. In fact, in this last prayer intention of the year, the Holy Father asks that we pray “that Christians living in areas of war or conflict, especially in the Middle East, might be seeds of peace, reconciliation and hope.” He is the first to do so, reciting a prayer to the “God of peace,” in the video produced and distributed by the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network, with the collaboration of Vatican Media.
Builders of hope, instruments of peace
Christians “living amidst wars and violence” should never feel alone, “even [when] surrounded by pain,” the Holy Father says. “May they never cease to feel the gentle kindness” of God’s presence, “and the prayers of their brothers and sisters in faith,” he continues. “May they become seeds of reconciliation, builders of hope in ways both small and great, capable of forgiving and moving forward, of bridging divides and seeking justice with mercy.”
Even in those parts of the world in which war seems to be the only rule of law, “where harmony seems impossible,” Christians are called to be “instruments of peace.” This goes not only for those living there, but for all of us as well, because Jesus “called blessed those who work for peace.” The Pope asks the Holy Spirit not only to sustain “the faith of those who suffer” and to strengthen “their hope,” but also that he “not allow us to fall into indifference,” and to make us “builders of unity.”
Faith amidst the rubble
This month’s prayer intention, as well as Pope Leo XIV’s first apostolic journey, focus on one of the most unstable areas in the world from a political, economic, and safety perspective. According to Aid to the Church in Need’s Religious freedom report 2025, the number of conflicts in the Middle East and the socio-economic conditions there expose religious minorities, and Christians in particular, to a condition of extreme vulnerability. After two years of war, the population in Palestine is beyond exhaustion; homeless families have taken refuge in many churches. The severe economic crisis in Lebanon has driven thousands of people to emigrate, emptying parishes and schools. In Syria and Iraq, reconstruction struggles to make progress due to political instability, insecurity, and the lack of prospects for the young. And yet, in the midst of these difficulties, many small communities continue to safeguard the faith, serve the poor, and build bridges of co-existence with their neighbors who practice other religions.
The images that accompany the prayer read by the Pope tell us specifically about this. They show us examples of an unshakable faith even in the midst of the rubble. We see celebrations in Iraqi villages come back to life after the war, the extraordinary strength of the parish community of Gaza even as they are being bombed, the indispensable work of Caritas in Lebanon among the poor and refugees in neighboring countries, the spiritual oasis offered by Syrian monks. All of these are signs of the presence of that Holy Spirit who, as the prayer read the Pope says, is “the source of hope in the darkest times.”
From Francis to Leo
“The condition of Christians in areas of conflict has been a constant concern in the heart of the successor of Peter,” recalls Father Cristóbal Fones, S.J., the International Director of the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network. “Several times over the years, Pope Francis entrusted the suffering and the witness of Christians who live in difficult situations to the prayer of the Church. For example, he asked for prayers for persecuted Christians (March 2017), for dialogue and reconciliation in the Middle East (November 2019), religious discrimination and persecution (January 2022), for the martyrs of our day, witnesses to Christ (March 2024).
Pope Leo XIV picks up this legacy right at the moment of his first apostolic journey to Türkiye and Lebanon. His invitation to prayer is an act of closeness and hope, a way to say to the Christians of Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and so many other countries, that they are not forgotten, that the universal Church walks with them. It also serves to recall to all of us that the faith grows even in the midst of trial, and that from the wounded community seeds of reconciliation and peace can be born. This is why, as the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network, we want to join the Holy Father in asking that the Holy Spirit sustain these brothers and sisters, and to strengthen all of us in hope and solidarity.”
Finally, within the context of the Holy Year 2025, The Pope Video acquires special relevance, since it allows us to learn about the prayer intentions the Pope holds in his heart. To properly receive the graces of the Jubilee indulgence, it is necessary to pray for the Pope’s intentions.
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On the eve of his departure for Türkiye and Lebanon, the Pope invites us to pray for Christian communities who live in war-torn or conflict zones. Leo XIV invites them to not feel abandoned and to be “seeds of peace, reconciliation and hope.” He then asks all Christians in the world “to not fall into indifference” and to be “builders of unity.”
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