One hundred thousand people converged in St. Peter's Square Saturday evening in response to Pope Francis's appeal to believers, including Muslims, and non-believers as well, to join together in a day of fasting and prayers for peace in Syria as well as in Lebanon, Irak, Palestine, Israel and Egypt. The Pontiff's message was clear and emphatic: "Let the cry for peace rise up across the earth," he declared. This was Pope Francis's first important entry into the sphere of international diplomacy. The massive participation also demonstrated, as do the crowds flocking to the Wednesday papal audiences, the Pontiff's extraordinary popularity and influence.