Faith leaders from Dublin gathered online yesterday at noon for a special Covid19 prayer service.

The group included the Catholic Archbishop Diarmuid Martin and Church of Ireland Archbishop Michael Jackson as well as members of the Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Sikh, Bahá’í and Zen Buddhist communities.

The service was a response to an appeal made Pope Francis. Speaking earlier this month, the Pope announced that “[He had] accepted the proposal of the ‘Higher Committee for Human Fraternity’ for believers of all religions to unite spiritually this 14th May for a day of prayer, fasting, and works of charity, to implore God to help humanity overcome the coronavirus pandemic”.

The “Higher Committee for Human Fraternity” was established at a Conference held in February 2019 on the occasion of the visit Pope Francis and His Eminence Dr Ahmad At-Tayyeb, Grand Imam of Al Azhar Al Sharif to the United Arab Emirates to discuss the promotion of human fraternity and world peace.

The Dublin service was coordinated by Mr Adrian Cristea of the Dublin City Interfaith Forum.