Initially a scattering of women’s groups holding annual prayer services, the movement gained strength during and after the Second World War – the service in 1942 was written by French and German refugees - with a focus on peace and reconciliation.

This network gradually drew women together across denominations and continents and in 1967 a conference held in Taiz?, France, signalled the start of greater involvement from Catholic women. WDP has always had a global outlook and is now celebrated annually in over 170 countries on the first Friday in March. Its main focus is a service that is written every year by Christian women from a particular country, to introduce their way of life and encourage others to pray for them in their situation.

Under the motto ‘Informed Prayer and Prayerful Action’, donations given during the service are used for social projects around the world, mainly led by women. The services are an uplifting celebration of our diverse world, even when the country in focus is going through difficult times.

The last two years have provided a big contrast – in 2025 the women of the Cook Islands chose the theme I made you wonderful (from Psalm 139) and we learnt something of their lives on these tiny Pacific islands, in some ways wonderful but also facing struggles in healthcare, education and emigration by the young people. The year before was the turn of the women of Palestine.

They had been designated to write the service long before the start of the conflict in Gaza, but the theme they had chosen could not have been more appropriate: I beg you, bear with one another in love.

Women who had buried relatives and seen their homes and churches destroyed as a result of air strikes, told their stories and the real challenges they face in continuing to love as Christ taught.

The joy and, sometimes, the pain of the life experiences shared through WDP services is that they come from real people whose stories are never heard in the media, and they move us to ‘informed prayer and prayerful action’.

More information about the World Day of Prayer movement at https://worlddayofprayer.net and https://www.wwdp.org.uk/