The Vatican has announced that the theme for the 2026 World Day of Peace will be “Peace be with you all: Towards an ‘unarmed and disarming’ peace.” Pope Leo XIV chose this theme to guide the annual celebration held on January 1, the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God.
In a statement released Tuesday, the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development explained that the theme calls humanity to reject violence and to pursue “an authentic peace based on love and justice.”
The Pope has repeatedly spoken of peace using the phrase “unarmed and disarming,” words that have already become characteristic of his papacy.
According to the Vatican, “unarmed” peace is not founded on weapons, fear, or threats, while “disarming” peace requires the courage to resolve conflicts, open hearts, and nurture trust.
“It is not enough to call for peace,” the press release noted. “We must embody it in a way of life that rejects every form of violence, whether visible or systemic.”
The statement emphasized that this invitation is universal, extending to people of all faiths and none, to political leaders and ordinary citizens alike. Quoting the Gospel of John, the Dicastery recalled Jesus’ greeting after the Resurrection: “Peace be with you” (Jn 20:19). It described these words as an invitation to work together for a future marked by justice and fraternity.
A book of papal words on peace
Coinciding with the announcement, the Vatican Publishing House (LEV) has released a new book compiling the Pope’s early speeches. Entitled And Let There Be Peace! Words to the Church and the World, the volume will be available in English, Italian, and Spanish beginning August 27.
The collection highlights Pope Leo XIV’s vision for his pontificate, including what the Vatican called “the primacy of God, the communion of the Church, and the search for peace.”
His numerous appeals for reconciliation, it noted, are directed “not only to politics but to the heart of every person.”
The Pope himself has insisted that peace begins in daily encounters: “in the way we look at others, listen to others, and speak about others.”
The book also traces the origin of the phrase “unarmed and disarming” to French monk Charles-Marie Christian de Chergé, who was martyred in 1996 with his six companions at the Abbey of Our Lady of Atlas in Algeria. Their story was memorably, and beautifully, told in the extraordinary film, Of Gods and Men.
Their witness continues to inspire movements of interreligious dialogue and nonviolence today.
The press release also pointed out that Pope Leo XIV was elected on May 8, 2025, the liturgical memorial of those very martyrs. Their testimony, combined with his own consistent appeals, lends weight to his insistence that peace is not only a political project but a spiritual task entrusted to humanity as a whole.
