Pope Francis has sent a letter to all Catholic Bishops ahead of the Consecration of Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, calling it a “gesture of the universal Church” to invoke an end to the violence and suffering of innocent people.

Father Ray Gramata will honor the Pope’s request at the 12:10 p.m. Mass on Friday at St. Bernard’s Catholic Church on East Corydon Street in Bradford.

Pope Francis’ request read: “At this dark hour, the Church is urgently called to intercede before the Prince of Peace and to demonstrate her closeness to those directly affected by the conflict.” “On Friday, March 25, the Solemnity of the Annunciation, I intend to carry out a solemn Act of Consecration of humanity, and Russia and Ukraine in particular, to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.”

“This Act of Consecration is meant to be a gesture of the universal Church, which in this dramatic moment lifts up to God, through His Mother and ours, the cry of pain of all those who suffer and implore an end to the violence, and to entrust the future of our human family to the Queen of Peace.”

The Pope invited all Bishops, priests, religious, and Catholic faithful to “assemble in their places of prayer on Friday, so that God’s Holy People may raise a heartfelt and choral plea to Mary our Mother.”