The Catholic Nonviolence Days of Action are celebrated each year between September 21, the International Peace Day and October 2, the International Day of Nonviolence and Gandhi’s birthday. This is a busy time for all of us, with the Season of Creation, Campaign Nonviolence, and the Week of Prayer for Peace in Palestine & Israel all taking place during the same period.
>> Start with this special PSA (Pray-Study-Act) resource we created for the Catholic Nonviolence Days of Action.
Pax Christi USA opportunities during the Catholic Nonviolence Days of Action – Stay tuned for more information!
- September 21, 8 PM Eastern (online): Start off the Catholic Nonviolence Days of Action with our quarterly PAX Mass, with celebrant Fr. Joe Mattern.
- October 2-30, 7 PM Eastern (online): A five-part online series, organized by Casa Esther Catholic Worker, Pax Christi USA and the Catholic Nonviolence Initiative, will be offered each Monday in October. This year’s theme will be the connection between nonviolence and care for creation. The series is primarily aimed at university students, but anyone can register to receive the recordings of each session.
- October 7, 10 AM-12 PM Eastern (online): Just a bit past the Catholic Nonviolence Days of Action, Pax Christi USA will co-host the Called to Be Peacemakers retreat. During this special virtual retreat from Pax Christi USA and the Bergamo Center for Lifelong Learning, participants will reflect on Pacem in Terris and peacemaking today, and will be led through prayer, reflection, and action by leaders in Pax Christi USA and artisans of peace.
- Anytime: Make plans to renew the Vow of Nonviolence, either individually or as a group. Use this new guide from the Catholic Nonviolence Initiative to organize a Vow of Nonviolence service.
Additional events during the Catholic Nonviolence Days of Action
- September 21, 1-2 PM Eastern: Franciscan Action Network (FAN) invites you to a deep listening session regarding the war in Ukraine. The session will use a synodal circle process offering space for people to connect deeply with one another, to share stories, and hear about the thoughts and feelings participants have regarding the war. Through this practice, FAN hopes to deepen empathy and connection so we may move forward together in the ways of a just peace. Use this link to register for the listening session to deepen your understanding and empathy towards our brothers and sisters impacted by the war in Ukraine.
- September 21, 10 AM-2 PM: Pax Christi Rhode Island is one of several groups involved in a special event at the University of Rhode Island. Local peace organizations will provide information about their activities, and arts, music, poetry, and meditation will be offered. (University of Rhode Island quad) At 6 PM, Wilcox Park Esplanade, 44 Broad Street, Westerly RI 02891, all are welcome to join the Westerly Area Peace and Justice, Rotary Club of Westerly, and Pax Christi Rhode Island for a special program to commemorate the International Day of Peace. The event will include songs and prayers from many faith traditions, plus a call to action.
- September 23: Pax Christi Southern California annual meeting (online): Join Pax Christi SoCal for an in-depth discussion on gun violence awareness and possible solutions. This event is free but good will offerings are appreciated. Use this link to learn more.
- September 23: Pax Christi Illinois annual meeting (in person): Learn about Bread Not Stones, the Pax Christi USA national campaign to cut military spending and fund human needs. Find out how you can become part of the Illinois state campaign to lobby Congress and call our bishops to follow the lead of Pope Francis in calling for an end to the arms trade. Keynote speaker: Tom Cordaro, Pax Christi USA Ambassador of Peace.
- September 22-24: #NoWar2023 conference (online): During three days of virtual panels, training, and discussion sessions, #NoWar2023 will make the case for the efficacy of nonviolent resistance as a tool for conflict resolution, highlighting case studies from around the world of unarmed civilian based defense against invasions, occupations, and dictatorships. World Beyond War’s #NoWar2023 annual global conference brings together peace and anti-war individuals and organizations from around the world to share, reflect, strategize, and organize towards the abolition of war. Standard tickets are $50 and student/low-income tickets are $20. Use this link to learn more.
- September 26, 12:30 PM, Interfaith Prayer Service in observance of the UN International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons (in person): Co-sponsored by Pax Christi New York State. Bring a prayer, poem, reflection, or hymn for the abolition of nuclear weapons or, more generally, for peace. Everyone in attendance will have the opportunity to share from your faith tradition. There is no formal program; we are the program. Let us know you are coming. Contact: nypaxchristi@gmail.com. The Gazebo at Dag Hammarskjold Plaza, E. 47th Street and Second Avenue, New York City.
- September 30, starting at 9:30 AM: Pittsburgh Area Pax Christi will hold a silent prayer for peace at St. Paul Cathedral at 9:30 AM before the Give Peace a Chance in Ukraine rally and march, which will begin at 11 AM at the Frick Fine Arts Building fountain, 650 Schenley Drive in Oakland. Some might feel more comfortable staying to pray during the rally and march so Pax Christi Pittsburgh has permission to stay at the Cathedral until 12 PM. Let Pittsburgh Area Pax Christi know if you can join them, pghpaxchristi@gmail.com. (The staff at the Cathedral requested that there be no posters or banners in or outside the church.)
- September 30-October 8: Global Days of Action for Peace in Ukraine: The Peace in Ukraine Coalition invites all to participate in the Global Days of Action to highlight the calls for a ceasefire, peace negotiations and weapons halt. Events may include street vigils in highly trafficked locations, media protests, congressional delegations, teach-ins, freeway bannering, etc. Use this link to access flyers, window signs, posters, buttons, stickers, and more.
Resources to help plan your Catholic Nonviolence Days of Action
- Vow of Nonviolence prayer service, for your community, small group, or parish
- Pope Francis’s prayer for a culture of nonviolence (YouTube recording)
- Eucharist for Gospel nonviolence (Eucaristía del Evangelio de la noviolencia)
- Let Justice and Peace Flow, a Catholic Liturgical Guide for the 2023 Season of Creation
- Living the Season of Creation Nonviolently
For resources from Pax Christi USA’s past participation in the Catholic Nonviolence Days of Action, click below:
Find more on our work to promote nonviolence at this link.
Thank you for the invitation to pray with you and for you during these days.
Could we please start this effort by pleading with our Roman Catholic president to desist from his immoral rhetoric of “winning” the war in Ukraine and instead resolve diplomatically this obscene proxy war.
David-Ross Gerling, PhD
Where would you begin negotiating with putin? Give him parts of your citizens’ country? Trade the stolen children as pawns? As a Pax Christi member, I’m baffled by this. I’m not vengeful but this is beyond “he started it” — Help me understand your idea of a good use of “diplomacy”.
Just as war and destruction truly solve nothing in peoples hearts and practical efforts to survive, diplomacy can seem to be a fruitless path. Behind the scenes(headlines), there are efforts by nonviolent groups in Ukraine, Russia and other nearby nations to nurture attitudes that question the moral and civic wisdom of waging this war. Although difficult to bridge the gap between the Russian Othodox Church and the Vatican, this realm of influence is being worked on. Not often highlighted, there are those who remind us of the religious/spiritual component as being indispensible in effecting the dissolution of the USSR. As human beings on both sides of the Ukraine war are injured and die and others in distant lands suffer the ripple effects of the war, it can, at times, be so demanding to cling to efforts rooted in nonviolence. We all suffer when reflecting upon the tragic war–we may differ in our approach to ending the war–we can all return to the strength of our desire for a lasting peace, beginning in our individual hearts/spirits. Peace.