The World Day of Peace is a feast day of the Roman Catholic Church dedicated to peace which is held on January 1, on the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. It was introduced in 1967 and was inspired by the encyclicals Pacem in Terris and Populorum Progressio of John XXIII and Paul VI.
The World Day of Peace has often been a time when popes make magisterial declarations relevant to the social doctrine of the Church. Paul VI and John Paul II have each year made important statements on the United Nations, human rights, women's rights, labor unions, economic development, the right to life, international diplomacy, peace in the Holy Land, globalization and terrorism.[1]