ROME — Pope Francis recited a prayer for mercy Wednesday, invoking the Lord Jesus “born under the bombs of Kiev.”
“Forgive us the war, Lord,” the pontiff prayed before the pilgrims gathered in the Vatican for his weekly general audience. “Lord Jesus, born under the bombs of Kiev, have mercy on us.”
“Lord Jesus, who died in his mother’s arms in a bunker in Kharkiv, have mercy on us,” he continued. “Lord Jesus, sent at the age of twenty years to the front, have mercy on us.”
“Lord Jesus, who can still see hands bearing weapons in the shadow of your cross, have mercy on us!” he prayed.
The pope said the prayer was written by an Italian bishop, while asking the faithful to join him in praying for forgiveness and peace from the midst of the pain of war.
Pope Francis speaks during weekly Angelus prayer on March 13, 2022 at St. Peter’s Square at The Vatican. He said “massacre” in Ukraine must stop. (VINCENZO PINTO/AFP via Getty)
“Forgive us Lord, forgive us, if not satisfied with the nails with which we pierced your hand, we continue to quench our thirst with the blood of the dead ripped apart by weapons,” he said. “Forgive us, if these hands you created to care have turned into instruments of death.”
“Forgive us, Lord, if we continue to kill our brother, forgive us if, like Cain, we continue to pick up stones from our field to kill Abel. Forgive us, if we continue to justify cruelty with our fatigue, if with our pain we seek to legitimize the brutality of our actions,” he continued.
While not calling out Russian President Vladimir Putin by name, the pope went on to beg God to “stay the hand of Cain,” referring to the biblical son of Adam and Eve, who killed his brother Abel.
“Forgive us the war, Lord. Forgive us the war, Lord,” he said. “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, we plead with you! Stay the hand of Cain!”
“And when you stay Cain’s hand, take care of him too. He is our brother,” he asked. “O Lord, end the violence!”
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