Day of Prayer and Peace in Assisi and in the Holy Land

Assisi was once again the scene of a meeting of religious leaders from all over the world. These meetings were initiated in 1986 by Saint Pope John Paul II. The San Egidio Community is instrumental in organizing these meetings. This year, the meeting, which lasted three days, reached its peak with the participation of Pope Francis on Tuesday, September 20, 2016.

“We need to pray for peace because, first and foremost, peace is a gift of God,” insisted Pope Francis.

The Pope said: "Our religious traditions are diverse. But our differences are not the cause of conflict and provocation, or a cold distance between us. We have not prayed against one another today, as has sometimes unfortunately occurred in history. Without syncretism or relativism, we have rather prayed side-by-side and for each other."

Then, he warned thousands of people of faith about the danger of a special paganism, which infiltrates between religions: through indifference to the suffering of others: "It is a virus that paralyzes, rendering us lethargic and insensitive, a disease that eats away at the very heart of religious fervour, giving rise to a new and deeply sad paganism: the paganism of indifference."

He also asked that religion is not used to justify war: "We must never tire of repeating that the name of God cannot be used to justify violence. Peace alone, and not war, is holy! Our future consists in living together. For this reason we are called to free ourselves from the heavy burdens of distrust, fundamentalism and hatred."

Parishes throughout the Holy Land joined in this prayer.

For meeting in Assisi, see here

For arrival of Pope, see here

For the time of prayer at the event, see here

For a brief view of the ceremony, see here

For entire ceremony with Pope Francis, see here