Make of your life a mission of peace

In an address to the World Council of Churches in Evanston, Illinois in 1954, Dag Hammarskjöld, the second United Nations secretary-general (1953-61), referred to churches as the “guardians of … the deepest beliefs and the loftiest dreams …” of humanity. He died in a plane crash on this date while on a peace mission in the Congo and is the only person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize posthumously. Pope Francis praised him in 2015 for giving his life for “reconciliation among peoples.” May the example and inspiration of Hammarskjöld, and the many who work to end conflict in the world, unite the people of God in their pursuit.