Marian Academy yesterday celebrated the 32nd anniversary of Inter-national Day of Peace, which will be observed tomorrow.
The United Nations Day of Peace is celebrated on September 21st each year to recognise the efforts of those who have worked hard to end conflict and promote peace. This year’s theme is “The Right of Peoples to Peace.”
At the start of a simple ceremony at the school yesterday morning, a “peace candle” was lit. Principal Sister Marie Harper, in her opening prayer, said that we should “give peace to our people, peace among nations, peace in our dwellings and peace in our hearts.” The principal also reminded that we are all part of one global human family, living together in a world that remains broken and divided but through prayer and hope, the universal desire of peace may be realised.
There were also remarks by Bishop Francis Alleyne, Michael Gillis of UNICEF and a representative of the Environmental Protection Agency, in addition to peace hymns by the school’s choir and a moment of silence and reflection, followed by the ringing of the “peace bell.”
The first observance of World Peace Day was held on September 21, 1982. The United Nations inaugurated the observance to commemorate the absence of war and the implementations of international peace and humanitarian aid.