In a Sept. 3 letter, Bishop Paprocki informed pastors, parochial administrators and pastoral facilitators about Pope Francis’ request that on Saturday, Sept. 7, the entire world join in “prayer, in a spirit of penitence” to ask for peace in Syria and for all nations.

Bishop Paprocki wrote, “This period of prayer designated by Pope Francis translates to our time zone as noon to 5 p.m. Central Standard Time. Realizing that weddings and anticipated Masses for Sunday may be already scheduled during this time, it would be appreciated if churches could otherwise remain open during these hours on Saturday afternoon for people to come to pray for peace in the presence of our Lord Jesus, the Prince of Peace.”

Bishop Paprocki reiterated the pope’s condemnation of the use of chemical weapons and the call for all parties to conflicts to pursue negotiations, and urged the international community to take concrete steps to end conflicts, especially the war in Syria.

For the complete text of Bishop Paprocki’s letter, go to www.dio.org.