From Pax Christi International:
Sudan is currently facing one of the most severe and under-recognised humanitarian crises in the world. Since April 2023, the war between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has plunged the country into devastation.
This conflict has led to mass displacement, economic collapse, widespread hunger, and the breakdown of healthcare and education systems.
The situation has been exacerbated by targeted attacks on civilians, ethnic cleansing in Darfur, and the systematic obstruction of humanitarian aid. International bodies, including the United Nations and the African Union, have labelled Sudan as the worst humanitarian crisis globally.
In the spirit of faith and solidarity, Pax Christi International is launching the World Day of Prayer for Peace in Sudan on 11 April 2025.
This global initiative invites people of all faiths to stand in unity: On 11 April 2025, we come together to pray, raise awareness, and take meaningful action for peace, justice, and healing in Sudan. Whether you are an individual, a faith leader, or a community organiser, your participation can make a difference.
Inspired both by the legacy of St. Josephine Bakhita, a Sudanese woman who overcame enslavement and became a symbol of resilience and faith, and by the suffering, courage, resilience and faith of all women in Sudan today who are supporting their communities and working for peace, we reaffirm our commitment to peace and justice.
Pax Christi International has created a booklet in English and Arabic to support communities and faith leaders in implementing a moment of prayer and reflection, but also ways to include the prayer in already existing spiritual gatherings.
The campaign is symbolised by the dove. The dove is a universal symbol of peace, hope, and unity, inspiring communities to stand together in solidarity for Sudan. As a sign of commitment to peace, individuals and communities can incorporate this symbol in their moment of prayer and reflection (you can find suggestions on how to do it in the booklets posted here on the Pax Christi International website).
Suggestions on how to participate on April 11:
- Host prayer gatherings: Create spaces for communal prayer by organising vigils and moments of reflection. These can take place in places of worship, homes, or public spaces, offering a chance for individuals to come together in solidarity.
- Engage faith leaders: Encourage religious leaders to incorporate prayers for Sudan into their services. Their guidance can help communities channel their faith into a collective call for peace.
- Embrace interfaith unity: Invite people from diverse religious and cultural backgrounds to join in prayer. An inclusive approach fosters understanding and strengthens the message of unity.
- Enrich the spiritual experience: Use music, readings, and personal testimonies to deepen the emotional and spiritual connection during prayer gatherings. These elements can make the experience more profound and impactful.
- Share the light and/or moment of prayer on social media: Post images of lit candles as a symbol of hope and unity. Use the hashtags to spread the message and encourage global participation: #LightingTheWaySudan
Will you host a service in your community on April 11 to pray for peace in Sudan? Please share your plans with Pax Christi International — use this link and scroll to the form at the bottom of the page.
Please note that additional multimedia resources will be available throughout the whole campaign period.
As a longtime PCUSA member who, along with Rosemarie Pace of PC New York State, is a member of the PCI Sudan team of Christians and Sudanese Muslims who have been planning with Giulia Bordin and Martha Ines Romero of the PCI International Secretariat the April 11th World Day of Prayer for Peace in Sudan and the Campaign for Sudan that will be launched in May, I want to thank you very much for sending out this announcement. I hope everyone will join in this interfaith effort for Sudan, which the UN and the African Union have called “the worst humanitarian crisis in the world today.” This Global Solidarity effort will be much appreciated by the Sudanese people who feel forgotten and ignored.
Yes, prayer and supplication to God for it to prevail Peace…and security in all parts of the world… I am from Sudan and we are suffering from the scourge of war …By law and legislation, God has regulated relationships between people after they sought refuge. For God’s sake, from injustice, slavery, servitude and oppression We must enact laws and legislation that control behavior and regulate relationships between Individuals in the state and relations between states
Dr. Mawa Mohamed, a Sudanese sociologist, and I (Ron Pagnucco) are members of the Pax Christi International Sudan Team and we co-edited the special Darfur and Sudan section of essays in the just-published Journal of Social Encounters — we would like to offer it as a possible resource for the April 11th World Day of Prayer for Peace in Sudan. Along with information on the Day, the Introduction that Mawa and I wrote gives a good overview of recent developments in Darfur and Sudan, and other material may also be useful. The Journal is co-published by the Catholic University of Eastern Africa-Nairobi and the College of St. Benedict + St. John’s University.
Journal of Social Encounters Volume 9, Issue 1 (2025) The Continuing Saga of Darfur and Sudan
https://digitalcommons.csbsju.edu/social_encounters/
Mairead Corrigan Maguire, Nobel Peace Laureate Statement on World Day of Prayer for Peace in Sudan
Below is the message that will be read out at the Anaka prayer ceremony:
Nobel Peace Laureate Mairead Corrigan Maguire, presently committed to 40 days of fasting and prayer for the victims of Gaza and wars worldwide, has sent the following message to the Anaka Women’s Collective of Refugees and Asylum Seekers ‘ prayer ceremony in support of Sudan and the World Day of Prayer for peace in Sudan:
The Sudanese people are in my heart and in my prayers as I fast and pray that the scourge of war and militarism be removed from all the peoples of this world. Together with the Anaka Women’s Collective on this World Day of Prayer for Peace in Sudan, I send my love and prayers to Sudanese chilldren and those of the world. May they never more suffer war.
Mairead Corrigan Maguire
Nobel Peace Laureate
Pax Christi International webpage description of Anaka’s activity:
Belfast, Northern Ireland: ANAKA WOMEN’S COLLECTIVE (Collective of female refugees and asylum seekers)
GRIEF, COMFORT, PRAYER a ceremony in which Anaka women and supporters will collectively celebrate/commemorate the victims of Sudan’s war and also wars throughout the global south. The women will wear traditional Sudanese dress and colours. The ceremony will involve flowers and candles in the colours of Sudan. Prayers will be conducted in Arabic, Irish and English. There will be traditional Arabic and Irish grief calls, as well as poetry and music. The ceremony will take place in Redeemer Central, a grassroots community church blessed with a beautiful building whose pastors have shown amazing support, tolerance and understanding for Anaka’s women, children and families and who are at the forefront of combatting Islamophobia
Yes…to pray and supplicate to God For peace, stability and security… I am from Sudan… The war was the reason for our exit from Sudan In search of security… Through education, humanity advances… and lives in peace… We must spread knowledge and education.
In our World Day of Prayer information, we call attention to St. Josephine Bakhita who, as you know, is the patron saint of Sudan. She was born in Darfur, Sudan and survived kidnapping and enslavement. She was beatified on May 17, 1992 and canonized on October 1, 2000. She is also the patron saint for victims of slavery and trafficked persons.
This quote from a homily by St. Pope John Paul II, one of my favorite quotes about Bakhita, highlights her interfaith significance and her message of reconciliation and love:
“To religious believers everywhere she speaks of the value of reconciliation and love, for in her heart she overcame any feelings of hatred for those who had harmed her. She learned from the tragic events of her life to have complete trust in the Almighty who is always and everywhere present, and therefore she learned to be constantly good and generous to everyone”
IN HONOR OF BLESSED JOSEPHINE BAKHITA
HOMILY OF HIS HOLINESS JOHN PAUL II
Green Square, Khartoum (Sudan)
Wednesday, 10 February 1993
https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/homilies/1993/documents/hf_jp-ii_hom_19930210_khartoum.html
I also would like to include a story about the World Day of Prayer that appeared yesterday in our diocesan newspaper The Central Minnesota Catholic — the public is invited to attend the 5:00 prayer on the 11th and there will be an exhibit about St. Bakhita and Sudan in the lobby. The monastery is on the campus of the College of St. Benedict:
Diocese, Benedictine Sisters to participate in World Day of Prayer for Peace in Sudan
https://thecentralminnesotacatholic.org/diocese-benedictine-sisters-to-participate-in-world-day-of-prayer-for-peace-in-sudan/