Holy See Mission celebrates World Day of Peace with prayer gathering in Geneva

By Christopher Wells

At this year’s celebration of the 57th World Day of Peace, Cardinal Miguel Angel Ayuso Guixot reflected on Pope Francis’ Message for the Day, emphasizing that technological progress must be accompanied by an ethical framework to ensure the flourishing of a culture of peace and the building of a better world.

The annual prayerful gathering, now in its fifteenth year, was hosted by the Holy See’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations and International Organizations in Geneva, and brought together numerous ambassadors, leaders of international organizations, and representatives of various religious communities.

Guests at the event heard short reflections from representatives of the different religious communities present in Geneva, including Jews, Buddhists, Sufi Muslims, and Protestant and Greek Orthodox Christians.

A press release from the Holy See’s Mission noted that the reflections were interspersed with prayerful invocations in Arabic, Chinese, French, English, Russian, and Spanish, with music provided by the Filipino and African choirs of St. John XXIII Parish, where the event was held.

“The interreligious guests were each then gifted with an olive branch, as a memento of the occasion and a sign of our common efforts for peace,” according to a press release.

After a final prayer led by Bishop Charles Morerod, OP, the Bishop of Lausanne, Fribourg, and Geneva, participants gathered for a reception in the parish hall.