As tensions in the Middle East remain high, children in a Metro Manila parish are quietly advancing a global plea for peace, folding paper cranes and sending a message to Pope Leo XIV.
In Quezon City, young parishioners of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church have folded nearly 2,000 cranes, reviving a symbolic act inspired by hope and prayer.
Parish priest Fr. Robert Reyes said the effort began Sunday, drawing children from The John Dewey School for Children and nearby communities.
He said the initiative was sparked by a 13-year-old parishioner who began folding cranes months earlier after hearing his homily on peace.
Within weeks, they hope to send the cranes and a handwritten letter to the pope through Archbishop Charles Brown, apostolic nuncio to the Philippines, amplifying the appeal beyond local borders.
In their message, the children said they heard the pope’s call for peace and responded with “quiet hands and hopeful hearts.”
“Holy father, we are with you. We may be small, but we believe small things matter,” they wrote, urging prayers for children living amid fear and violence worldwide.
The effort draws inspiration from Sadako Sasaki, a Japanese girl who developed leukemia years after the 1945 atomic bombing of Hiroshima.
Sasaki folded more than 1,000 paper cranes while hospitalized, believing the act could bring healing. Her story later helped inspire a global children’s peace movement. She died at 12 in 1955.
Reyes said the project underscores how faith and simple gestures can shape moral voices, even among the youngest members of society.
The priest said he plans to propose a nationwide effort during May devotions, encouraging parishes to offer paper cranes alongside traditional flowers to the Virgin Mary.
Reyes also called on global leaders to prioritize dialogue, warning that continued conflict risks a future with no survivors.
“They should not stop their negotiations until they arrive at a consensus to stop the war,” he said. “The dialogue is not about concessions, on who gets what. They always have a demand. The children only have one demand—for peace.”
For the children, the message remains simple: “one crane, one prayer and one hope for peace.”
