In the silence of ANZAC Day, Pope Leo XIV’s call resounds: peace must be chosen.

ANZAC Day begins in darkness and silence. The Last Post sounds out, and a shared silence holds the moment. For many Australians, this is perhaps the only time they pause in companionable silence with others.

Students lay wreaths side by side with veterans and families, parishes gather for Masses of remembrance, and Catholic schools mark the day with liturgies of prayer and reflection. ANZAC Day is our shared day of remembrance, shaped by loss and gratitude. It speaks of sacrifice, and of lives changed or cut short. The Catholic Church has long held this same tension. War is never glorified. Even when force may be used in defence of life, it is always limited, always reluctant, and always directed towards peace.

But remembrance is not passive. When we stand in silence reflecting on the sacrifice of others, we need to think not only of the past, but of our present and what honouring the fallen looks like in action beyond an annual day of remembrance and prayer.

War and conflict today are still cutting lives short, displacing families, and the language of power and retaliation still finds its way into everyday conversation and public life.

At a recent prayer vigil for peace in St Peter’s Basilica, Pope Leo XIV urged the world to turn again towards dialogue and away from violence. “Enough of war. True strength is shown in serving life”, he said, reminding us that peace is something to be built, not assumed.

“We are an immense multitude that rejects war not only in word, but also in deed. Prayer calls us to leave behind whatever violence remains in our hearts and minds. Let us turn to a Kingdom of peace that is built up day by day — in our homes, schools, neighbourhoods, and civil and religious communities … Let us believe once again in love, moderation and good politics. We must form ourselves and get personally involved, each following our own calling. Everyone has a place in the mosaic of peace!”

His words echo into the silence of ANZAC Day.  They remind us that while we honour sacrifice, we cannot accept war as inevitable. There are no real winners, only lives lost, families changed, and futures reshaped.

And so ANZAC Day becomes more than a moment we attend. It becomes a moment that asks something of us.  Not in a big way,  but in the ordinary choices that shape our lives. In how we speak to one another. In how we respond to disagreement; whether we choose patience over anger, understanding over division.

Peace does not begin in parliaments or peace talks alone. It begins in people. It begins in small, deliberate acts – in kindness, in restraint, in the decision to see another person not as an opponent, but as a neighbour.  In that sense, the silence we keep on ANZAC Day does not end when the ceremony finishes. It carries forward, quietly, into the way we live.

And perhaps that is where its deepest meaning lies; not only in remembering the cost of war, but in choosing, each day, to live differently.

For those seeking to respond in faith, the Church offers simple prayers that give words to that desire for peace — whether the ancient plea, “Give peace in our times, O Lord”, or the words of Christ himself, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you”.

These are not just words to be recited, but a way of forming the heart. And so we pray:

Lord Jesus,
you conquered death without weapons or violence:
you shattered its power with the strength of peace.
Grant us your peace,
as you did to the women filled with doubt on Easter morning,
as you did to the disciples who were hiding in fear.
Send forth your Spirit,
the breath that gives life and reconciles,
that turns adversaries and enemies into brothers and sisters.
Inspire in us to trust in Mary, your mother,
who stood at the foot of your cross with a broken heart,
firm in the faith that you would rise again.
May the madness of war cease
and the Earth be cared for and cultivated by those who still
know how to bring forth, protect and love life.
Hear us, Lord of life!

Prayer from the Prayer for Peace Vigil led by Pope Leo XIV at Saint Peter’s Basilica on 11 April 2026.

Image above right: On Friday 24 April, students at Our Lady’s Primary School in Wangaratta thoughtully participated in an ANZAC Liturgy,  through readings, music, prayer and silence. In Catholic schools, special liturgies are celebrated — candles lit, hymns sung softly, stories told so that younger generations learn not only history, but memory shaped by faith.