Pope announces day of fasting, prayer for Syria

VATICAN CITY (AP) -- Pope Francis is asking people to join him next weekend in a day of fasting for peace in Syria.

Francis invited people of all faiths to join him Saturday evening in St. Peter's Square to invoke the `'gift" of peace for Syria, the rest of the Middle East and worldwide where there is conflict.

Declaring `'no more war," Francis spoke to tens of thousands of people gathered in the square on Sunday.

He says the `'world needs to see gestures of peace and hear words of peace." He says that only dialogue, and not armed intervention, can end Syria's civil war.

The five-hour-long prayer vigil in the square Saturday will last until midnight.