This August, the Pope has chosen a theme that poses a timely challenge for humanity and for the Church’s mission: conflict within our societies. Hence, he asks the faithful to pray “that societies where coexistence seems more difficult might not succumb to the temptation of confrontation for ethnic, political, religious or ideological reasons.”

In the video produced this month in collaboration with Jesuit Communications Foundation (JesCom), Pope Leo XIV recites a prayer composed specifically for this August intention by his Worldwide Prayer Network. The images that accompany his words create a montage of the divisions present in the world: wars, confrontation and violence that cause destruction, force people to flee their own land, and contribute to existential loneliness.

Let us pray that societies where coexistence seems more difficult might not succumb to the temptation of confrontation for ethnic, political, religious or ideological reasons.