ROME – With the war in Gaza morphing into a full-blown regional conflict as the first anniversary of hostilities approaches, the Church’s leading voice in the Holy Land has called on believers to observe an Oct. 7 day of prayer and fasting for peace.

In a recent statement, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, noted that “for the past year the Holy Land, and not only, has been plunged into a vortex of violence and hatred never seen or experienced before.”

“The intensity and impact of the tragedies we have witnessed in the past twelve months have deeply lacerated our conscience and our sense of humanity,” he said.