Lithuania: Bishops call for prayers for peace in Ukraine and Europe. “Tension has not eased"

“We have already prayed for peace in Ukraine and throughout our continent” at the invitation of Pope Francis on 26 January. However, the “tension has not yet eased, so we, the Bishops of Lithuania, invite believers to pray the Rosary daily for our homeland and for peace in Europe for the entire month of February”. The Bishops of the Baltic country wrote this on the website of the Bishops’ Conference, inviting “every household, every family and every church to humbly appeal to the intercession of our Mother Mary: Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen of Peace and Patroness of Lithuania, protect Lithuania, Ukraine and the whole of Europe”. In their message, the Bishops also say that “February reminds every Lithuanian citizen of the independence of our homeland, achieved just over a hundred years ago”, and of how “the faithful have actively contributed to the creation of the state”. For this reason, “looking proudly at the work done to build the state”, the Bishops invite everyone to “thank” for what has been achieved, but also to “pray that the Lithuanian people will continue to appreciate what has been achieved”. Freedom, the Bishops go on to say, “is a priceless gift from God, as peace is, a precondition for the harmonious and unhindered development of every political society”, a peace that “is threatened in Europe today”.
Valentina Bombelli