The President of the Republic of Liberia, His Excellency Joseph Nyuma Boakai, Sr., has by Proclamation declared Friday, April 12, 2024, as “National Fast and Prayer Day” and is to be observed throughout Liberia as a National Holiday. 

According to a Foreign Ministry release, the Day is to be observed as a Day of supplication, prayer, fasting and meditation so that our efforts as people may be crowned with great achievements to the common cause of the Nation, the State, and its humanity.

The Proclamation further calls upon all Prelates, Priests, Elders, Deacons, Evangelists, Imams, and all residents, regardless of religious creed, to gather with one accord in their places of worship, in each city, town, village, hamlet and home within the territorial confines of the Republic of Liberia, in simple and non-costly apparel to fast, pray and meditate from 8 o’clock in the morning.

The release says all public offices and business houses as well as marketplaces are to remain closed during the observance, while all citizens and foreign residents will cease from their usual daily occupations and avocations in recognition of God’s love and guidance. 

“Through the patience and unwavering commitment to democratic principles, Liberians turned up on Election Day in large numbers and exercised their right to vote peacefully that laid the groundwork for the country’s second democratic transfer of power in over 70 years; the resilience of Liberia’s democratic institutions was instrumental to achieving this milestone and serves as an example for the region and the world,” the Proclamation stresses.

The Proclamation further recalls there have been unusual and extraordinary outbreaks of natural phenomenon and man-provoked national crises that have caused much harm, devastation, and destruction in many parts of the world from which our Nation has been spared by the Grace of God. 

The Proclamation recounts that there are large numbers of the nation’s kith and kin living in uncertain conditions in the Diaspora, and the need for remembrance in prayers of those who have made the supreme sacrifice remains unfulfilled.

The Presidential Proclamation stresses that the people of Liberia have always submitted themselves, in humble supplication to the Almighty God for guidance and protection as well as for peace in their national life and affairs.

The Proclamation is in consonance with the Patriotic and Cultural Observances Law of the Republic of Liberia, Chapter one, declaring the second Friday in April of each year as a “National Fast and Prayer Day”, as a day of fasting and prayer for the prosperity of the nation.