WILMINGTON, DE — The Catholic Diocese of Wilmington will hold a series of Holy Hours for Peace across Delaware and Maryland in the coming weeks, responding to a national call from U.S. Catholic bishops to pray for peace amid rising tension and uncertainty in communities across the country.
The effort follows an invitation from Archbishop Paul S. Coakley, president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, urging dioceses nationwide to dedicate time to prayer for peace in the nation. In response, Bishop William E. Koenig and the priests of the Diocese of Wilmington gathered on Wednesday, February 4, 2026, during their Presbyteral Retreat to offer a Holy Hour for Peace and to schedule additional observances throughout the diocese’s deaneries.
The national call to prayer comes in the wake of the bishops’ Special Pastoral Message on Immigration issued in November 2025, which expressed concern for immigrants living in what the bishops described as a climate of fear and anxiety. That message urged respect for the fundamental dignity of all people and called for humane treatment and meaningful reform of immigration laws…