About

“You may tell a tale that takes up residence in someone’s soul, becomes their blood and self and purpose. That tale will move them and drive them and who knows that they might do because of it, because of your words. That is your role, your gift.” ~Erin Morgenstern, The Night Circus

This blog is about the power of stories–in particular, the power of stories to change the world–and maybe, just maybe, to change us too.

Our scriptures, that original collection of stories that our ancestors cherished and passed down to us generation after generation, tell us, “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” The stories told here on this site, whether taken individually or woven together, provide us a vision that speaks to both the presence of peace in our world today and the promise of peace for peoples and places that so desperately yearn for it.

The voices here come from throughout our global movement, 120 member organisations on 5 continents, individuals and groups who are witnessing to peace with justice through the practice of active nonviolence and reconciliation. These are the voices and stories of people close to the action, on the ground, at the grassroots, all joined together to make Pax Christi International.

About Pax Christi International 

Pax Christi International is a global Catholic peace movement and network that works to help establish peace, respect for human rights, justice and reconciliation in areas of the world that are torn by conflict. It is grounded in the belief that peace is possible and that vicious cycles of violence and injustice can be broken.

Pax Christi was founded in Europe in 1945 as a reconciliation movement bringing together French and Germans after World War II. Today, the movement has 120 member organisations active in more than 50 countries and five continents worldwide.

Pax Christi operates as an autonomous Catholic entity in which laypeople, bishops and other religious members work as equals in pursuit of their peace-building goals. A faith-based Catholic movement, Pax Christi pays special attention to both the positive and negative impact of religion in attempting to resolve conflicts.

Structurally, Pax Christi is a “bottom up” organisation comprised, on one hand, of national sections and local groups, all carrying the Pax Christi name, and, on the other hand, of affiliated partners and organisations who work under their own names.

Since 1979, Pax Christi International has held special consultative status with the United Nations in New York, Geneva and Vienna, as well as with UNESCO in Paris. It is also officially represented at the African Union in Addis Ababa and at the Council of Europe and enjoys, along with its member organisations, access to the European Parliament and the European Commission.

Pax Christi International received the UNESCO Prize for Peace Education in 1983, was recognised by the United Nations as a UN Messenger for Peace in 1987, and has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, most recently in 2016.