On Thursday, 26 March, echoing the urgent request of Pope Leo XIV, Br. Paul Bednarczyk, C.S.C., Superior General, called upon members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, as well as its partners in mission and friends, to renew their prayers for peace.

“With wars currently raging on several fronts in our world, I feel compelled once again to ask your fervent and heartfelt prayers for peace and an end to all global violence and aggression," wrote Br. Bednarczyk. “As Pope Leo has said, we cannot be silent any longer. Let us together lift our voices in prayer ‘for the conversion and deliverance of all’ who turn to violence in order to achieve their goals. May they quickly put an end to this ‘scandal for the entire human family.’”

In particular, “as a way to ‘stand with the poor and the affected’ of these hostile actions” during the coming days of Holy Week, Br. Bednarczyk encouraged the praying of “the Stations of the Cross, a devotion close to the heart of our Founder, holding the intentions of those in war-torn countries who yearn for peace, security, and fullness of life.”

This is not the first time that Br. Bednarczyk has made a strong call for prayer in response to the wars and violence that have plagued the world in recent years. Under his leadership, the Congregation’s General Administration and Holy Cross Family Ministries have teamed up to organize two unique Global Rosaries for Peace that have drawn people together from around the world in prayer through a live online broadcast.

The first Global Rosary for Peace took place on 16 February 2025 and united some 30,000 people in prayer. The second on 22 October 2025, which included a message sent by His Eminence Pietro Cardinal Parolin, Vatican Secretary of State, on behalf of His Holiness Pope Leo XIV, was even bigger, drawing over 65,000 people through the online broadcast.

One of the inspirations to use specifically a live internet broadcast to unite people across the world in prayer came from Venerable Patrick Peyton, the founder of Holy Cross Family Ministries, who led Rosary Rallies around the world, helped pioneer the use of media for ministry, and preached, “A world at prayer is a world at peace.”

“As Holy Cross religious, we vowed to live according to our Constitutions, which say, ‘It is not that we take sides against sinful enemies, before the Lord all of us are sinners and none an enemy. We stand with the poor and the affected because only from there can we appeal as Jesus did for the conversion and deliverance of all,’” wrote Br. Bednarczyk.

“We in Holy Cross must continue to convoke people to both action and prayer in response to the pressing injustices and needs of our time,” he said.