FCJ Sisters were part of over a hundred people of faith who gathered outside the ExCeL Centre in London on 9th September to mark the No Faith in War Day at the Defence and Security Equipment International (DSEI) arms fair. In a world scarred by violence and injustice, participants chose the tools of prayer, presence, and lament, to challenge the global arms trade – particularly in light of the ongoing genocide in Gaza, where weapons sold at DSEI continue to fuel untold death and suffering.
Pax Christi members stood from early morning in a silent vigil outside the gates of the Excel Centre. Arms dealers passed by as Pax Christi members tried to engage them in conversation, challenging the myth of ’security‘ and ‚defence‘ promoted by their industry. A tiny minority took prayer cards with these powerful words from Pope Francis:
Give us a voice for those who have no voice and are not heard; those who know that there is no tomorrow in war, and that the violence of weapons destroys both the beauty of creation and the joy of life.
Pope Francis
This was the opening prayer given by Sr Katrina Alton, National Chaplain to Pax Christi England and Wales.
Tonight we stand silent but not silenced, on the threshold of hell – because this is DSEI 2025 – Defence and Security International. Behind the polished glass of the ExCeL Centre, men and women in suits are preparing to buy and sell the machinery of death. Tanks, Drones. Bombs. Tools of Empire. War games dressed up in contracts and cocktails. They call it a “fair” – but there is nothing fair about it.
We gather here in silence because Jesus stood in silence before Pilate. Not because he had nothing to say, but beca
use the truth had already been spoken. Love your enemies. Put away your sword. Blessed are the peacemakers. He didn’t just preach it – He lived it – all the way to the Cross. Million-pound deals will be made here this week, while the crucified poor bleed in Gaza, in Yemen, in Sudan. And we, citizens of a nation profiting from that blood, are a called not to look the other way.
Our silence tonight is a scream against the veil of respectability that hides the horror. We are here to tear it away, with prayer, with presence, with non-violent resistance. The world will say we are naïve. But we remember that the first Christians, unarmed and persecuted, changed the world without raising a sword. And we believe still, that the power of non-violent Love is stronger than the war machine.So, we wait. We witness. We hold vigil as if at a tomb – because the arms trade is a culture of death. But we stand in hope, because as people of faith we know that tombs don’t get the last word. We hold this vigil for all victims of the arms trade. For the children buried under the rubble. For a world drunk on violence yet thirsting for justice and peace.
Let our silence speak what words cannot. Let our prayers disturb the powers. Let our Love be more powerful than their weapons. Together, let us now begin our silent vigil, and remember all the victims of the arms trade. Amen.
Parts of this text are adapted from International Catholic News article by Sr Katrina Alton, National Chaplain to Pax Christi England and Wales. Two bottom hotos are taken from the Pax Christi website.
