Sant'Egidio's 'Cry for Peace' awaits Pope Francis for closing event

By Deborah Castellano Lubov

A three-day peace summit hosted by the Community of Sant’Egidio has been welcoming presidents, religious leaders, and various high-ranking authorities, and is set to welcome Pope Francis, later on Tuesday afternoon.

The event in Rome was inaugurated Sunday at the “Nuvola” Congress Center in the Italian capital's EUR business district, with the presence of French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian President Sergio Matterella.

Cry for Peace

Pope Francis is taking part in its closing ceremony the afternoon of 25 October, at the Colosseum.

This marks the third-consecutive year Pope Francis has participated in the annual event.

While the Summits generally were held in different European cities, since the pandemic, they have been held in Rome, and with the Holy Father's presence at each prayer gathering.

This marks the 36th edition of the meetings initiated in the wake of the historic World Day of Interreligious Prayer for Peace of 27 October 1986, with Pope St. John Paul II.

This year, the event was held under the theme was 'Il Grido della Pace' (The Cry for Peace).

International event

The event, appealing for peace, especially as the world is engulfed by war, and especially the ongoing war in Ukraine, has brought together, once again, an impressive line up of participants, including several Vatican prefects, including Cardinal Kurt Koch of the Vatican's Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, and Cardinal José Tolentino Calaça de Mendonça of the Dicastery for Education and Culture.

In addition to presidents of national Bishops' Conferences, Cardinal Raffael Sako of Iraq, and Archbishop Laurent Ulrich of Paris, also were present.

Religious leaders from Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Sikhism, and Hinduism, have come together in this appeal for peace.