Solemnity of Mary Mother of God, World Peace Day
The Roman Catholic Church marks the Solemnity of Mary Mother of God and World Day of Peace on the first day of every year.
Pope Francis traditionally celebrates a Holy Mass in commemoration of the two significant religious events at 10 a.m. (4 p.m. Manila time) at the Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome, Italy.
In his message for World Peace Day 2022, the Pontiff called for more investment in education and less in weaponry.
Pope Francis said the world had witnessed a “significant reduction” in education funding in recent years, while military spending had soared beyond Cold War levels.
“It is high time, then, that governments develop economic policies aimed at inverting the proportion of public funds spent on education and on weaponry,” the Pontiff said.
Meanwhile, the faithful are encouraged to offer novena prayers, special prayers, and to recite the Holy Rosary in honor and in celebration of the divine motherhood of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Also known as the “Maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary,” the title Mary, Mother of God was accorded the Blessed Mother during the Council of Ephesus in the year 431 to celebrate the fact that Mary, being the mother of Jesus, who is God, was to be called Mother of God.
In recognition of the event, Pope Sixtus III built in Rome the Basilica of St. Mary Major, one of the four major basilicas of the Catholic faith.
The observance of World Day of Peace is meant to give honor to the part played by Mary in the mystery of salvation. “It is meant to exalt the singular divinity which this mystery brings to the Holy Mother, through whom we were found worthy to receive the Author of Life,” said Saint Pope Paul VI who instituted the observance in 1968.