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"On 10 January 1946, as the echoes of the Second World War still reverberated across a shattered continue, representatives from 51 nations gathered here, not as victors and vanquished, but as wayfarers on a shared path towards peace,” said Cardinal Vincent Nichols in a homily. “They came to shape the United Nations, an audacious dream born of necessity: that humanity, scarred by unimaginable loss, could choose cooperation over conflict and dialogue over destruction.”
The service drew a wide array of clergy from various Christian denominations as well as representatives of Muslim, Buddhist, Sikh, Jewish, and Hindu faiths.
The very first meeting ever of the United Nations General Assembly was held in London in the immediate aftermath of World War II and in the bombed out shell that was the city at the time.
Alluding to the efforts of the United Nations around the world, the cardinal noted: "Moments from these 80 years come flooding back: blue helmets in Cyprus, mediating the Cuban missile crisis, feeding millions in Ethiopia, and vaccinating billions in the shadow of COVID,” he said.
“These are not metrics: they are mercy made manifest, threads woven into a tapestry of hope.”
His homily did not merely rest on the laurels of the past but noted that people of faith cannot shy away from honest reckoning.
“Today multilateralism faces fierce headwinds,” he said. “The very idea of nations working with trust, purpose, accountability, and patience feels, at times, like a whisper against the clamour of nationalism and protective isolation.”
UN secretary-general António Guterres reflected on the symbolic location of the commemoration.
“For eight decades, the General Assembly has been the place the world comes together to help advance peace, promote sustainable development, and safeguard human rights,” he said. “Today, we are entering a new chapter of that story.”
Guterres highlighted the quiet victories of international cooperation.
“If we wish to secure more such victories, we must ensure the full respect of international law and defend multilateralism, strengthening it for our times,” he said. “The world of 2026 is not the world of 1946. As global centres of power shift, we have the potential to build a future that is either more fair — or more unstable.”
Annalena Baerbock, president of the UN General Assembly, said that the United Nations and its principles are not only under pressure, but under heavy attack. "Not all of us are singing from the same songbook anymore."
WCC publishes “Voices of Faith at the United Nations” (WCC news release, 9 July 2020)
In pictures: first-ever UN General Assembly in London 80 years ago
