Remembering in prayer those who were lost, the heroes who jumped in to save lives and the families they left behind is a positive thing that we can do as Catholics. Jesuitreource.org features a lengthy list of prayers written for prior anniversaries that help guide hearts from fear and anger toward healing and hope, which is a wonderful legacy of a day that should never be forgotten.
Pope Leo has chosen a very different theme for the 2026 World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, celebrated on Sept. 1: “They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks” (Is 2:4). The Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development said the Holy Father’s message focuses on how armed conflicts violate our duty to care for creation by destroying the natural world and threatening the lives of millions of people.