Pax Christi International will hold a prayer vigil later in the month in response to an appeal for prayer for Zimbabwe from the country's Catholic bishops and the South African Catholic Bishops' Conference.

Christians from across the country are invited to take part in the prayer vigil outside the Zimbabwean embassy in London on 14 April.

The vigil will focus on a solution to the increasingly serious political, economic and social crisis in Zimbabwe.

In a recent pastoral letter, the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops' Conference said that the people of Zimbabwe were "suffering" and that "more and more people are getting angry".

The bishops have blamed the current food shortages and soaring unemployment in Zimbabwe on the radical land reform programme brought in by the Zimbabwean government seven years ago.

They have also accused the government of mismanagement and corruption and said that the economy would not revive "unless corruption is dealt with severely".

Despite mounting international pressure and deepening opposition within his own ZANU-PF party, Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe is showing little sign of relinquishing his power. ZANU-PF recently announced it will endorse Mugabe as its presidential candidate in elections due to be held next year.

Archbishop Pius Ncube of Bulawayo, however, has urged Zimbabweans to stage peaceful demonstrations to call for the president's resignation. The Catholic bishops also call for "concrete action" to inspire hopes and have asked the international Christian community to set aside 14 April as a Day of Prayer and Fasting for Zimbabwe.

Pax Christi International has called on its worldwide networks to hold prayer vigils on that day and asked Christians in countries where Pax Christi member organisations are present to write or call their respective Zimbabwean embassies in protest of the violent repression of the country's opposition movement and a commitment to peaceful and democratic change.