By Matters India Reporter
Yangon, March 13, 2026: The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Myanmar has urged the faithful to intensify their Lenten observances with special prayers, fasting, and charity, dedicating them to peace in Myanmar and across the world.
In a pastoral appeal signed by Cardinal Charles Bo, the conference president, and Bishop Noel Saw Naw Aye, secretary general, on March 13, the bishops announced that March 26 will be observed as a day of “intense prayers and fasting” for Myanmar.
“For the Catholic Church, the Holy Lenten Season is the time to make more effort for penance, conversion of heart and the intimate relationship with God,” the bishops wrote. “We do need to make special prayers for peace in the world, especially in the Middle East and in Myanmar.”
Myanmar has three Catholic archdioceses and 14 dioceses, making a total of seventeen ecclesiastical jurisdictions across the country. These are organized into three provinces: Mandalay, Taunggyi, and Yangon, each headed by an archbishop, with several suffragan dioceses under them.
The appeal echoes Pope Leo XIV’s reminder that peace is not merely the absence of conflict but is “built by the practical living of love, compassion and mutual understanding in daily life.”
The bishops’ call comes at a time when wars and violent conflicts are raging across the globe, causing immense suffering and displacement.
Ukraine continues to endure the devastating war with Russia, with tens of thousands of casualties reported in the past year. Sudan is torn apart by civil war and ethnic violence, spreading into new regions. Palestine faces escalating conflict with Israel, marked by heavy civilian tolls.
Myanmar itself remains gripped by civil war between the military junta and resistance forces, while Nigeria struggles against insurgency and terrorist violence that destabilize communities. Other regions such as Iraq, Syria, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Pakistan, and several African nations including Mali, Burkina Faso, and Cameroon are also facing insurgencies and unrest.
Salesian Cardinal Bo emphasized that the faithful’s spiritual sacrifices during Lent must translate into solidarity with the poor and suffering, both within Myanmar and globally. “Peace is not a distant dream,” he said in the appeal. “It begins with each of us living love and compassion in our daily lives.”
The bishops outlined three practices for the faithful: prayers that God may grant peace to the world and to Myanmar, fasting that unites believers with the suffering of Christ and offers their own sufferings for the conversion and unity of hearts, and charity expressed through donations and support for the poor and suffering.
The bishops also invited the faithful to keep in their hearts the famous Prayer for Peace by St. Francis of Assisi as they observe the day.
