People from across the archdiocese came together at the Metropolitan Cathedral on Monday 7 October to pray for peace in the Holy Land.

A year since the beginning of the terrible conflict in the Middle East, the early-evening Mass at the Cathedral’s Blessed Sacrament Chapel was dedicated to prayer for peace for all people in the region, whatever their religion.

Archbishop Malcolm was the chief celebrant of this Mass for the Feast of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, and he led the congregation in saying the Rosary beforehand.

This feast was instituted by Pope St Pius V in recognition of Our Lady’s intercession for victory over the Ottoman fleet at the 16th-century Battle of Lepanto, explained the archbishop, who added: “Our prayer should not be for victory with its accompanying destruction, injury and death.

"Notions of the triumph of good over evil should give way to prayers for peace when all peoples live in harmony enriched by the gifts we bring to each other.”

Present at the Mass were members of the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre, whose mission is to support the Christian communities of the Holy Land.  

In celebrating the Mass, Archbishop Malcolm was evoking the spirit of St Paul – who demands that ‘bishops have a concern for all the churches’ – and responding, moreover, to Pope Francis’s call for 7 October to be a day of fasting and prayer for peace in the Holy Land.

“Let us unite with the power of Good against the diabolical plots of war,” said the Pontiff himself, who called for the “immediate release” of the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza and a restored flow of “humanitarian aid” into the ravaged enclave. Pope Francis also demanded an “immediate ceasefire” on all the fronts on which Israel is fighting, including Lebanon.

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