Light in the Darkness: Global Prayer Vigil for Myanmar
As Myanmar continues to suffer the devastating impacts of war, natural disasters and displacement, Jesuit Mission Australia and the Taizé Community invite people of all faiths to join together in solidarity and prayer in an online vigil: Light in the Darkness: Global Prayer Vigil for Myanmar.
Held on Thursday 29 May at 3:30pm MMT (Myanmar Time), 11:00am CET (Central European Time), 7:00pm AEST (Sydney Time), this global gathering will feature peaceful reflection through Taizé music, scripture and moving testimonies from those surviving the crisis in Myanmar.
The vigil will be led by Helen Forde, CEO of Jesuit Mission Australia, and Br Ghislain of the Taizé Community, joined by special guests from Myanmar.
Since the military coup of February 2021, more than 3.5 million people have been displaced and over 19.9 million are in desperate need of emergency assistance. Recent indiscriminate airstrikes and a catastrophic 7.7 magnitude earthquake have only intensified the suffering. Families are facing severe food shortages, unsafe shelter, and a lack of access to clean water and medical care.
Myanmar has become one of the world’s most urgent humanitarian crises. Entire villages have been bombed, including schools, churches and hospitals destroyed, and millions are living and hiding in fear.
Yet Jesuit Mission’s local Jesuit partners in Myanmar remain embedded in affected communities, delivering life-saving support to families on the frontiers as well as pastoral care and hope.
“Let us be a light in the darkness for the people of Myanmar,” said Helen Forde. “This vigil is an opportunity to lift our voices together in hope and compassion, and to renew our call for peace.”
Related Posts:
Accompanying, protecting, and connecting: this is how the commitment of the Jesuit network in Latin America is moving forward. We share two important updates from the region: the recognition of Andean women in their crucial role as protectors of cultural memory and spirituality, and the preparations of the delegation that is already marching forward toward the XII Pan-Amazon Social Forum (FOSPA) in defense of the Amazon.
To understand and address the impacts of socio-environmental corruption in Latin America and the Caribbean, AUSJAL and the CPAL Social Centers Network have launched the extension course 'Environment and Corruption'. In the following article, Luiz Felipe Lacerda (OLMA) shares the structure of this successful educational initiative and the international research that underpins it.
To mark World Refugee Day 2026, which coincides with the 75th anniversary of the Geneva Convention, the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) has launched a global campaign inviting people everywhere to defend the right to seek safety and protection. In this same context, the Jesuit Conference of Africa and Madagascar (JCAM) has issued a powerful statement entitled “Together in Solidarity, Stronger in Humanity”.
In his closing statement on the UN June Climate Meetings (SB64), the Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC noted that, while important progress was made on the Just Transition Work Programme, the conference concluded without delivering the necessary advances on adaptation and mitigation.
The SB64 negotiations in Bonn concluded without reaching consensus on the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA). According to a report published by the Climate Action Network (CAN), the group of developing countries, including the Africa Group of Nations, did not support the final draft decision due to the omission of a commitment to triple adaptation finance.
Amid the ongoing discussions on climate finance at SB64, we share the recent and powerful video message from Pope Leo XIV for the Tenth Austrian World Summit.