Cardinal Dominique Joseph Mathieu urges peace in Middle East during Holy Week prayer vigil in Rome after fleeing Iranian capital amid escalating conflict.
Newsroom (31/03/2026 Gaudium Press ) In a powerful plea delivered during Holy Week, the Archbishop of Tehran issued an urgent call to abandon the cycle of violence consuming the Middle East, invoking the memory of Saint John Paul II’s historic anti-war prayers as conflicts threaten to engulf the region.
Cardinal Dominique Joseph Mathieu, Archbishop of the Latin Archdiocese of Tehran-Isfahan, addressed worshippers at the Basilica of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme on Monday evening, his words carrying particular weight as he had been compelled to flee the Iranian capital just three weeks earlier on March 8.
“Never again war, an adventure with no return; never again war, a spiral of mourning and violence,” Cardinal Mathieu declared, echoing passages from a prayer Saint John Paul II delivered on February 2, 1991, during the Gulf War. The Cardinal’s invocation took on added urgency given the current escalation of hostilities ravaging the Gulf region.
A Plea to Break the Cycle
Central to Cardinal Mathieu’s message was a direct appeal to abandon retaliatory violence. “Stop the logic of retaliation and revenge,” he prayed, calling instead for divine intervention to “suggest new solutions, generous and honourable gestures, spaces for dialogue and patient waiting, more fruitful than the rushed deadlines of war.”
The prayer vigil, presided over by Cardinal Baldassarre Reina, Vicar General of the Diocese of Rome, formed part of the monthly “Mission of Peace – A Journey in the Spirit” initiative. The program is jointly promoted by the Diocesan Missionary Centre, the Office for Social and Labour Pastoral Care of the Diocese of Rome, and collaborative partners including Pax Christi, Azione Cattolica, and the Community of Sant’Egidio.
Spotlight on Forgotten Conflicts
While the Middle East dominated the evening’s focus, participants also directed attention toward conflicts that have largely escaped international notice. The humanitarian catastrophes unfolding in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and Sudan received particular emphasis, with organizers highlighting how these “forgotten conflicts” continue to devastate populations far from global media attention.
The Holy Land received special consideration during the vigil. Attendees expressed measured relief at the Israeli authorities’ decision to permit Holy Week celebrations in Jerusalem, though the concession came with significant security restrictions tied to ongoing military operations. The agreement followed a troubling incident on Palm Sunday, when access to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre was denied to both Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, and Father Francesco Ielpo, Custos of the Holy Land.
‘So Many Innocent People Being Crucified’
Speaking to journalists following the service, Cardinal Reina drew a direct parallel between the relic housed within the basilica—one of Christianity’s most significant fragments of the True Cross—and contemporary suffering.
“We are close to the Iranian people and to all those who are suffering at this moment,” Cardinal Reina stated. “This church preserves one of the most important relics of the Cross of Christ. History repeats itself, and there are so many innocent people being crucified.”
The Cardinal Vicar emphasized Pope Francis’s consistent call for Christians worldwide to pray for peace, describing the current moment as “dramatic for all humanity.”
The Absurdity of Violence
In his meditation, Cardinal Reina posed a fundamental question to the assembled faithful and the broader international community: “Violence produces only more violence. How can humanity not have learned this basic lesson of history?”
The Cardinal observed that the world has “lost peace” and is moving “towards the absurd,” toward “rearmament that carries the taste of death.” His remarks reflected growing Vatican concern over escalating military buildups across multiple regions and the apparent abandonment of diplomatic solutions in favor of armed conflict.
Cardinal Reina expressed particular appreciation for Cardinal Mathieu’s presence, noting that the Tehran Archbishop brought with him “the prayer of his people and of all peoples marked by war.” The Iranian prelate’s forced departure from Tehran has underscored the deteriorating security situation for religious minorities in the region.
Christ Among the Suffering
Drawing on the imagery of Holy Week, Cardinal Reina invoked the crucifixion narrative, noting that Jesus was executed between two criminals. “He who came to bring peace is found in the middle,” the Cardinal reflected, “as if to reveal a God who enters into our history, into our suffering, in the hope that someone will recognize Him and bring peace.”
This theological framework positioned Christ not as a distant observer but as an active participant in human anguish, a presence among those experiencing the consequences of armed conflict.
Cardinal Reina concluded the vigil with a stark reminder that genuine peace transcends political maneuvering. “Help us to recover peace,” he prayed, stressing that lasting resolution ultimately cannot emerge from “diplomatic choice or strategy” alone. Rather, he affirmed, peace is embodied in Christ himself—a spiritual reality that must inform and transform human efforts at reconciliation.
The Holy Week vigil comes as diplomatic efforts to broker ceasefires in multiple conflict zones have repeatedly faltered, with civilian casualties mounting and humanitarian access increasingly restricted across war-torn regions from the Middle East to Africa.
- Raju Hasmukh with files from Vatican News
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