Speaking at this year’s United Nations (U.N.) Prayer Service, held annually ahead of the U.N. General Assembly, Archbishop Ronald Hicks told attendees, “You, at the United Nations, know well. You plant seeds of diplomacy and prevention that often go unseen.”
The annual evening prayer service was held on Sept. 8 at the Holy Family Church on E. 47th Street in Manhattan. Pope Paul VI, during the first papal visit to the United States in October 1965, celebrated Mass at this church.
Archbishop Hicks said in his reflection, “When a disagreement does not become a conflict, when violence does not escalate, when a crisis does not become a catastrophe, headlines may never be written, and history books may never be published. Yet peace has prevailed, and countless lives have been blessed because of your work. That peace begins to flourish when we embrace the principles of human dignity.”
The gathering for the 81st Session of the General Assembly was offered by the Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations. It was called “Solemn Vespers for the Memorial of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.” Nearly 200 people attended. Only the Holy See (The Vatican) and Palestine hold permanent observer status at the U.N.
Diplomacy must prevail
“As we gather at the beginning of this new session of the United Nations, we are reminded that peace is possible. Peace is possible when dialogue triumphs over division. Peace is possible when diplomacy prevails over violence,” Archbishop Hicks asserted.
“Peace is possible when every human person is seen not as a problem to solve, but as a child of God to be loved. May the Blessed Virgin Mary, whose birth we celebrate today, accompany you in your important work and mission. May St. Francis of Assisi inspire you to be instruments of peace. And may Christ, the Prince of Peace, bless your efforts in promoting a more just and peaceful world. To you and to all, I pray: Paz y bien. Peace and all good things, forever and ever. Amen.”
In his remarks, the archbishop said peace is what the annual gathering is meant to highlight and celebrate. He noted that last year at the Vatican, newly elected Pope Leo XIV told the world, La pace sia con tutti voi.” (Peace be with all of you).
Words of peace were also offered by António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations; Khalilur Rahman, president of the Eighty-first Session of the General Assembly of the United States; and Rev. Monsignor Robert Murphy, chargé d’affaires of the Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the UN. Welcoming remarks were made by Rev. Monsignor Douglas Mathers, pastor of Holy Family Church.
Lord, hear our prayer
Monsignor Murphy noted that all attending the prayer service, “in this sacred place so close to the United Nations,” were united with “a longing for peace and justice, for reconciliation and the possibility of new beginnings, to affirm the dignity of every human person…On the deliberations of the new session of the General Assembly, may the Lord receive our prayers, guide all our endeavors, and grant His peace to the human family.”
Guterres noted that unity and clarity matter: “As we gather today, we have to remember why we are here, to end the injustice of poverty, to stop the madness of war and violence, to uphold the dignity of every person, and to protect our planet, our common home.”
He added that in the world today, we see civilians suffering in “wars they did not choose; we see the few exploiting the many…we see the powerful insisting that might makes right.” Given this global predicament, he said, the UN needs to remember the importance of “every act of courage by people who refuse to give up on one another…Solutions are formed when we come together; solidarity and our common humanity must be our priority.”