By Mary Stadnyk | Associate Editor
In top photo: Father Rick Osborn, pastor of St. Catherine Laboure Parish, Middletown, speaks with the Holy Father following the Prayer Vigil for Peace at the Vatican on April 11. Vatican Media photo
When Father Rick Osborn and two of his seminary classmates traveled to Italy to celebrate the 10th anniversary of their priestly ordination this month, part of their visit included attending Pope Leo XIV’s Prayer Vigil for Peace at the Vatican.
“Any chance to attend an event and pray with the Holy Father, especially at the Vatican, is one I would not pass up,” he said. And to be part of the Prayer Vigil for Peace on April 11 “was very beautiful and powerful.”
“The core of it was praying and singing the Rosary and a litany of Our Lady asking her to pray for the world,” Father Osborn said. “Pope Leo gave some remarks at the end and then his blessing.”
Pope Leo announced the Prayer Vigil for Peace initiative April 5, during an Angelus address given moments after celebrating Easter Sunday Mass. The plea came as the U.S.-Israel war on Iran, launched Feb. 28, has spiraled into a regional conflict with thousands of casualties and extensive repercussions for global relations and markets. A threat by U.S. President Donald Trump to annihilate Iran, which was halted in favor of a fragile ceasefire, added urgency to the Pope’s request.
During the vigil held in St. Peter’s Basilica, the Holy Father Pope Leo XIV called on world leaders and individuals to empty their hearts and minds of hatred and violence, and to start serving life.
“Enough of the idolatry of self and money! Enough of the display of power! Enough of war! True strength is shown in serving life,” he said.
“Those who pray are aware of their own limitations; they do not kill or threaten with death,” he said. “Instead, death enslaves those who have turned their backs on the living God, turning themselves and their own power into a mute, blind and deaf idol, to which they sacrifice every value, demanding that the whole world bend its knee.”
“Let us listen to the voices of children,” who write to him all the time, recounting “all the horror and inhumanity of actions that some adults boast of with pride,” he said.
After the April 11 vigil, Father Osborn was delighted to share about having the opportunity to greet the Holy Father in person.
“To be honest, I did not say as much as I was expecting … my mind went to mush,” he said. “I told him why I was in Rome and he congratulated me on my anniversary. He also gave some nice advice and encouragement for a priest who is celebrating 10 years of priesthood.
When Father Osborn returns to St. Catherine Laboure Parish, Middletown, where he is pastor, he said he plans to share his experience about the Prayer Vigil for Peace with his parishioners and “use it as a reminder and encouragement for my people to pray for the Pope, authentic unity rooted in Christ within the Church and for peace in the world.”
Overall, Father Osborn added, “the food was great, but the prayer time celebrating Mass in so many significant churches was the best part!”
OSV News contributed to this story.