“On the World Day of Peace we ask for this urgent and necessary gift for the world”

“On the World Day of Peace we ask for this urgent and necessary gift for the world”

On the first day of the year, the Rector of the Shrine of Fatima, Father Carlos Cabecinhas, presided at the Solemnity of St Mary Mass and referred to the building of peace as a “permanent task” that “we must build every day”.

On Wednesday morning, before a large crowd in the Basilica of the Most Holy Trinity, Father Carlos Cabecinhas presided over the Mass for the Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God. On the World Day of Peace, he underlined that peace is everyone's responsibility, which is “built in the heart of each one of us”, and he warned that not only war, but “all forms of violence undermine peace”.

The President of the Celebration recalled that “the world is torn apart by wars and conflicts of all kinds”, which is why “this World Day of Peace does not allow us to forget the victims of wars and invites us not to be indifferent to the suffering of so many of our brothers and sisters throughout the world”.

Starting from the first reading and the oldest and most solemn blessing formula of the Old Testament, Father Carlos Cabecinhas warned that peace “is not just the absence of war”. “It is also and above all harmony with God, with others and with ourselves”, he said, “the greatest of God's gifts and His synthesis”.


Referring to Portugal, he added that “fortunately we don't live the dramatic experience of war”, but he warned that “this in itself is not synonymous with peace”, because “there are many other forms of violence and all forms of violence undermine peace”.

He recalled that “physical aggression, verbal and psychological violence, abuse of power, indifference to others and their problems, the exploitation of human beings, the lack of respect for the rights and dignity of others, domestic violence and the countless victims it causes among us, including fatal victims, especially women,” undermine peace on a daily basis.

Considering the message of Fatima as “a message of peace and a permanent incentive to be peaceful and peacemakers,” Father Carlos Cabecinhas suggested that we try to “learn from the Holy Shepherds to be peaceful and peacemakers” stressing that “every day, it is up to us to build peace, because it begins in the heart of each one of us”.

The Rector of the Shrine of Fatima wished everyone “a good year 2025, full of God's blessings” and expressed his hoped that in the New Year we would be able to “build peace around us” so that we can “live the joy of the Jubilee Year” as “pilgrims of hope”.