Prayer Service

Journey with the Sudanese people for peace

In 2011 the people of southern voted to secede from the north by an overwhelming majority. The referendum was unprecedented in its nonviolence, in the people’s insistence upon peace. Voting in Hai Jalaba, a polling station in Juba, Sudan. Photo by Sara A. Fajardo/ CRS The 101 days leading up to the election were marked by prayer throughout the world for a peaceful process.

And the prayer was heard. And it was Little Angels school teacher Oscar Noel Bwire, 24, leads answered. students in prayer in Bor, Sudan in October 2010 just a few months before the referendum. Photo by Sara A. Fajardo/CRS Sudan will never be the same again.

While there is great joy, there are also those who are saddened at the division of our country. There are fears and concerns about the future. Problems still remain. A young man in Juba carries the new flag of . - Sudan Catholic Bishops’ Conference Photo by Kim Pozniak/CRS And so we must continue to lift our hearts in prayer, and our voices in solidarity with people who long for peace.

Members of the Legion of Mary of St. Theresa Cathedral of Juba , South Sudan, participate in their first mass in an independent nation. Photo by Sara A. Fajardo/ CRS A version of the following prayer was used in the 101 days of prayer leading up to Sudan’s referendum.

Photo by Kim Pozniak/CRS Let us pray We pray with Catechist Paustino Jada who helps tend the church in Palotaka, Magwi.

Lord Jesus, who said to us: "I leave you peace. My peace I give you”:

Photo by Karen Kasmauski for CRS We pray with the members of Paustino Jada’s church, which has been damaged by war and disrepair, yet keeps its door open despite decades of violence.

Look upon our Sudanese sisters and brothers, as they continue the struggle for peace.

Photo by Karen Kasmauski for CRS We pray with this boy from the village of Lualdit, in Jonglei State, who listens in on a health training .

Give them the wisdom they need to choose their future.

Photo by Sara A. Fajardo/ CRS We pray with this woman from West who relied on food from Catholic Relief Services and other charities when violence brought hunger to her village in 2009.

Where they will know your true peace.

Photo by Debbie DeVoe /CRS We pray with those who rejoiced at the independence of their new country, as delegations from around the globe helped usher in the world's newest nation-the Republic of South Sudan-in Juba, South Sudan, on Saturday, July 9, 2011.

You call us out of slavery, oppression, and persecution

Photo by Sara A. Fajardo/ CRS

We pray with Sandy and her mother Atoo Joska, who provides child care for young mothers in job training in Magwi, Sudan.

So that we may have life in abundance.

Photo by Karen Kasmauski for CRS We pray with the children of Jonglei, whose state is inaccessible six months out of the year because of rain and mud.

Grant us peace with one another.

Photo by Sara A. Fajardo/ CRS

We pray with those in South Sudan who lit candles and planted trees on the eve of independence to remind each other that their country would need care and cultivation for it to prosper.

Give peace among ethnic groups.

Photo by Sara A. Fajardo/ CRS

We pray with Drabuga Henry Simon Osodsi (left), Caroline Auavo and Father Mawa of Nimule, Sudan, as they share the locking of a box of funds that is lent to a different community group each year.

Help us to work together for the good of all.

Photo by Karen Kasmauski for CRS We pray with Father Joseph Otto of St. Theresa Paris in Magwi as he presides at daily Mass.

We ask this in your name, Lord Jesus. Amen.

Photo by Karen Kasmauski for CRS We pray with the people of Wau, South Sudan, who remember a time when the cathedral in their city was one of the few safe places where people from throughout the city could meet and celebrate together.

Mary Queen of Peace, pray for us.

Photo by Sara A. Fajardo/ CRS

We pray with Josephine Bakhita of Sudan for all women who have been trafficked, enslaved and raped during the hostilities in Darfur.

Saint Josephine Bakhita, pray for us.

Photo by David Snyder/CRS We pray with Saint Daniel Comboni, a missionary of Sudan, for all who work tirelessly for Sudan’s future, such as these young men who learned masonry after fleeing violence in southern Sudan.

Saint Daniel Comboni, pray for us.

Photo by CRS staff We pray with the parishioners of All in Rajef, Juba, Sudan, as they worship.

All Holy men and women of God, pray for us.

Photo by Karen Kasmauski for CRS Please continue your prayers for peace for our Sudanese brothers and sisters.

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