Jerusalem (AsiaNews) - More than 3 thousand cities will mark the fifth day of intercession for peace in the Holy Land, to be held January 27, 2013. An extra 500 communities have joined since 2012. Worldwide priests, religious and laity ensure a chain of 24 hours of prayer.
Since 2008, the Day is celebrated on the last Sunday of the month of January and this year coincides with the "International Holocaust Remembrance Day." It is celebrated on the day of the liberation of the extermination camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau on 27 January 1945.
In his talk on January 1, World Day of Peace, Msgr. Fuad Twal, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, said: "Peace between peoples can be born and grow only if it is first in every person, every family, every religious community, in all people." "I think - said the prelate - that all the means to achieve peace must pass through justice and dialogue, and never through violence. The path is full of pitfalls, but hope guides us and the song of the angels assures us ".
The main promoters of the Day of Prayer for the Holy Land are: the National Association of Italian Papaboys, the Apostolate of the "Youth for Life", the chapels of perpetual adoration throughout Italy and the world, groups of Eucharistic Adoration , the Association for the promotion of the extraordinary prayer of all Churches for Reconciliation, Unity and Peace.