Vatican News / Karol Darmoros, Guglielmo Gallone
40 years after the meeting
Around 5,000 people gathered on Tuesday in the square in front of the Lower Basilica of St. Francis. Among the participants were Christians, Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, and representatives of other religions. The three-day meeting, titled “Unarmed and Disarming Peace,” recalled the event of October 27, 1986, and the interreligious meeting initiated by St. John Paul II. Just as 40 years ago, before the joint gathering, representatives of individual religions prayed in separate places.
Peace is not naivety
During the Christian prayer, Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, President of the Italian Bishops’ Conference, spoke of a world that is “dangerous, uncertain, and unpredictable.” He warned against justifying violence and the conviction that war is inevitable. “Peace is possible, and learning to live without hatred and killing is a matter of human dignity,” he emphasized. As he pointed out, the tool of Christ’s peace is encounter and dialogue that overcomes divisions.
Disarming oneself first
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople recalled the courageous gesture of John Paul II from 40 years ago. “To disarm the hands of another person, we must first agree to disarm our own,” he said. He called for healing wounds, welcoming those fleeing war, and rebuilding dialogue where hostility previously reigned.
Holy peace
In a video message to the participants of the meeting, Pope Leo XIV called for a return to the spirit of Assisi. He recalled that the pursuit of peace requires the rejection of all violence used under religious slogans.
“We must rebuild peace everywhere, not prepare for more wars! War must never be waged in the name of God!” the Holy Father conveyed. He firmly emphasized: “There is no holy war – only peace is holy!”
Appeal entrusted to children
Koko Kondo, a survivor of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, addressed the youth: “Where we adults have failed, I ask you, do not give up. Build a world where no one will ever have to know the horrors of war again.”
The final appeal was symbolically entrusted to children. It called for allocating funds spent on armaments toward water, food, schools, and jobs, and toward de-escalation to remove the nuclear threat. The next international prayer meeting of the Community of Sant’Egidio will take place in Genoa from September 26 to 28, 2027.
