POPE ASKS FOR "UNINTERRUPTED PRAYER" FOR PEACE IN HOLY LAND

VATICAN CITY, APR 28, 2002 (VIS) - Before reciting the Regina Coeli with the faithful who had come to St. Peter's Square for this noon prayer, Pope John Paul asked for a "chorus of uninterrupted prayer" for peace in the Holy Land.

"This Wednesday," he said, "starts the month of May, which is consecrated to Mary. Popular piety over the centuries has made this month a stupendous occasion to multiply initiatives of Marian devotion. Dearest brothers and sisters, we intensely live these days dedicated to the heavenly Mother of Our Lord. Let us recite, each day if possible, the holy rosary, either alone or in community. The rosary is a simple prayer, but profound and efficacious, for imploring graces in favor of families, communities and the entire world."

The Holy Father went on to say that "in the face of the international situation, where so many problems and needs emerge, and in particular in the light of the drama in the Holy Land that knows no end, we must turn with trust to the maternal intercession of the Blessed Virgin. We are certain that she can sustain the efforts of those who seek peace with sincerity and commitment. No one more than she, Queen of Peace, constantly watches over this difficult path of mankind."

"During the month of May," the Pope concluded, "may there be raised from every corner of the earth an uninterrupted chorus of prayer to heaven so that the initiatives of distension and dialogue in the Land of Christ and in every other place on the planet marked by violence and pain, will be affirmed."

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