Pope Leo XIV blesses 2026 World Children’s Day flag presented by Gaza boy, urging focus on peace for children amid global conflicts. Event set for Sept 25-27.
Newsroom (19/11/2025 Gaudium Press ) During his weekly General Audience on Wednesday, Pope Leo XIV blessed and personally signed a flag bearing the official logo of the second World Children’s Day, an international Catholic initiative scheduled for September 25-27, 2026.
Addressing Italian-speaking pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square, the Holy Father expressed his anticipation for the gathering: “My thoughts go to children, whom I will have the joy of encountering on the Day dedicated to them.”
The flag was presented to the Pope by seven-year-old Majd Bernard, a boy from Gaza, accompanied by Conventual Franciscan Father Enzo Fortunato, president of the Pontifical Committee for World Children’s Day. The gesture carried particular resonance given the ongoing hardship faced by children in conflict zones.
In a statement released by the organizing committee, the 2026 celebration is described as “a moment of encounter, prayer, and celebration involving children and their families from all over the world.”
Cardinal Kevin Farrell, Prefect of the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life, which oversees the event, emphasized the Church’s desire to place children and families at the center of its pastoral attention.
“Children must be shown the beauty of peace — peace lived first of all within their families, in the places they frequent, and in the whole world,” Cardinal Farrell said. He added that children “understand well the value of peace and suffer greatly when they sense tension and conflict around them, starting with their parents or in their surroundings.”
The prelate expressed hope that the second World Children’s Day will serve as “a beautiful opportunity for the Church to show closeness to children and their families, giving them hope and joy.”
The newly unveiled logo, prominently displayed on the blessed flag, features seven colorful footprints symbolizing the seven continents. According to the committee’s press release, the footprints evoke “the simple and authentic gestures of childhood” and underscore “the universality and purity of the little ones.” The varied colors represent cultural diversity forming a harmonious whole that welcomes differences.
At the logo’s center, the Dome of St. Peter’s Basilica appears as a protective embrace around the footprints, with the cross atop the dome recalling Christ’s passion and resurrection.
The inaugural World Children’s Day, held in Rome in May 2024, drew approximately 100,000 children from 101 countries. Organizers say the 2026 edition will renew the Church’s commitment “to listening to and valuing the voices of the little ones, protagonists of a world that longs for peace, welcome, and a future.”
- Raju Hasmukh with files from Vatican News
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