BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS | KAIROS GLOBAL | AUGUST 2026

Author:  Jenny Panjikaran Joy

Audio: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6hI3WfbWu5bdtsvzqFl2vx

Intro: Reflecting on the lives of a few saints, Jenny Panjikaran Joy writes that peacemaking involves far more than just maintaining peace.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God (Matthew 5:9).

It was peaceful people I imagined when I first read ‘Blessed are the peacemakers’; those who avoid arguments and bring harmony wherever they go. But peacemaking is not simply maintaining peace or avoiding conflict. It is an active choice to bring Christ's love into situations marked by division, injustice, fear, or hatred.  

The more I learned about the lesser-known saints, Bl Franz Jägerstätter, St Charles de Foucauld, St Óscar Romero, and St Maximilian Kolbe, the more I realised that peacemaking is often costly. It may require standing alone, reaching out to those who are different from us, speaking up for the vulnerable, or making sacrifices for the good of others. Yet these saints show us that such courage is precisely what the Gospel calls blessed. 

These four men lived in different countries and at different periods of history, yet each reveals a unique dimension of Christian peacemaking. Their stories challenge us to think about how we are called to be peacemakers in our own lives. 

Bl Franz Jägerstätter: Peace Through Conscience 

Bl Franz Jägerstätter was an ordinary Austrian farmer, husband, and father. During World War II, he was asked to fight for Nazi Germany and swear loyalty to Adolf Hitler. While many complied, Franz believed that supporting a regime built on hatred and violence would violate his Christian faith. 

His decision came at great cost. Friends, neighbours, and even a few fellow Catholics urged him to reconsider, yet he chose to follow his conscience rather than public opinion. In 1943, he was executed for refusing military service and was later recognised by the Church as a martyr. 

What strikes me most about Franz is that he was not a famous leader or activist. He was an ordinary person faced with an extraordinary decision. His example reminds us that holiness is often found in everyday faithfulness. Most of us may never face a choice as dramatic as his, but we often encounter situations where it is easier to remain silent, compromise our values, or follow the crowd. 

Franz understood that following Christ is not always comfortable. He wrote, ‘They may build many beautiful streets today, but they cannot change the way to heaven. This way will always remain rugged and rocky.’ Sometimes peacemaking begins with the courage to remain faithful to our convictions. 

In a world where fitting in often feels important, Franz chose faithfulness over popularity. When standing up for what is right comes at a cost, would I have the courage to follow my conscience?

Charles de Foucauld: Peace Through Friendship 

Charles de Foucauld's path to holiness looked very different. After a profound conversion, he became a priest and moved to the Sahara Desert, where he lived among the Tuareg people of Algeria. Rather than relying on status or influence, he chose a simple path: building friendships, listening, and learning from the people around him. 

Charles believed deeply in the dignity of every person. He wrote, ‘To love anyone is to hope in him for always.’ The life of Charles de Foucauld resonates with the Jesus Youth spirituality in its emphasis on welcoming newcomers, accompanying people in their struggles, and reaching out to those who feel excluded or forgotten. In a world marked by polarisation and division, Charles reminds us that peace often begins with genuine human connection – with listening rather than arguing, welcoming rather than excluding, and seeking understanding rather than judgment. 

If Charles were living today, would he spend more time debating people online, or sitting down with them, listening to their stories, and treating them as brothers and sisters? 

St Óscar Romero: Peace Through Justice 

As Archbishop of San Salvador, Óscar Romero lived during a time of political violence and social unrest in El Salvador. Early in his ministry, many people viewed him as cautious and reserved. However, his outlook changed dramatically after the murder of his friend, Fr Rutilio Grande, who had dedicated his life to serving the poor. Witnessing the suffering of ordinary people transformed him into a courageous advocate for justice and human dignity. He spoke out against violence, oppression, and inequality, believing that silence in the face of injustice was incompatible with the Gospel. 

In 1980, while celebrating Mass, Romero was assassinated. Yet even his final words, ‘May God have mercy on the assassins,’ reflected forgiveness and peace. 

Romero understood that genuine peace cannot exist where people are denied their dignity or basic rights. As he famously said, ‘Peace is the generous, tranquil contribution of all to the good of all.’ 

Young people encounter injustice in many forms – bullying, exclusion, discrimination, and indifference. Like many people, I have sometimes found it difficult to stand up for what is right.  St Óscar Romero inspires me because he chose courage over comfort. How often do we maintain a ‘false peace’ by staying silent when someone is being gossiped about, bullied, or excluded? How often do we choose the comfort of our own safety over the discomfort of standing up for what is right? Romero teaches us that real peace is built on justice and human dignity, not on keeping quiet just to keep everyone happy. True peacemaking sometimes requires us to disrupt a false peace.

When I see someone being excluded, mistreated, or unfairly judged, do I remain silent, or do I  have the courage to be a voice for those who have none? 

St Maximilian Kolbe: Peace Through Sacrificial Love 

St Maximilian Kolbe offers perhaps the most dramatic example of peacemaking among these four men. 

Imprisoned in Auschwitz during World War II, Kolbe volunteered to take the place of a fellow prisoner who had been condemned to die. In a place marked by hatred and cruelty, he responded with extraordinary love. 

He once said, ‘Hatred divides, separates and destroys, while love unites, gives peace and builds.’ His life was a living testimony to those words. 

This brings his witness down to earth for me. I may never be asked to lay down my life for someone in a concentration camp, but I am invited each day to ‘die to myself’ in smaller ways: 

• By holding back a harsh word when I am frustrated with someone  

• By setting aside my own plans to listen to a friend who is struggling 

• By responding with kindness and patience when someone treats me unfairly

These everyday sacrifices may seem small, but they are opportunities to choose love over self-interest. St Maximilian Kolbe reminds us that peacemaking begins when we put the needs of others before our own and allow Christ's love to shape our actions. 

When it would be easier to think only of myself, am I willing to put love first and make sacrifices for the good of others? 

A World Hungry for Peace 

We live in a time when peace often feels fragile. Around the world, wars continue to claim lives, displace families, and leave communities deeply wounded. At the same time, many of us experience conflict in less visible ways – in broken relationships, harsh words, online arguments, and divisions within our own communities. 

The saints we have reflected on show us that peacemaking begins with everyday choices. Franz teaches us to stand up for what is right. Charles shows us how to build bridges with others. Romero reminds us to speak up for the vulnerable. Kolbe demonstrates that love is strongest when it involves sacrifice. Together, they reveal that peace is an active choice rooted in Christ – choosing truth over popularity, friendship over division, justice over indifference, and love over hatred.

As I reflect on these saints, I am reminded of my uncle, a marriage counsellor who spent years helping couples navigate conflict, rebuild trust, and restore relationships. His work may never have made headlines, but it was peacemaking nonetheless. His example reminds me that not all peacemakers are saints, martyrs, or world leaders. Some are parents who reconcile family disagreements, friends who mend broken relationships, counsellors who help heal wounds, and ordinary people who quietly bring understanding where there is division. 

In a world hungry for peace, these everyday peacemakers remind us that peace begins one relationship at a time. Perhaps the most powerful witness we can offer is to bring Christ's peace into our homes, friendships, schools, workplaces, and communities. 

Let’s reflect upon ‘How is Christ calling me to be a peacemaker today?’

Jenny Panjikaran Joy is mom of two boys aged 9 and 5, and lives in Dallas, Texas with her husband Ajay. She is a freelance landscape designer and runs @studiobiotica, an online platform where she creates and sells handmade clay art. Inspired by God’s creation, she loves exploring faith through creativity and sustainable making, and believes that art is a way of responding to God’s creativity and beauty.