The Cry for Peace

The Cry for Peace: presentation of the Sant'Egidio International Meeting for Peace in Rome 23-25 October

Source: Sant' Egidio

A Cry for Peace is rising from many parts of the world. It is from listening to this cry and the need to respond to it that the Meeting of Dialogue and Prayer for Peace among the world religions, to be held in Rome from 23 to 25 October, originated.

This morning Marco Impagliazzo presented the three-day event that will bring together representatives of religions, politics and culture from about fifty countries along with thousands of people who have already registered. Faced with a dramatic international scenario, due to the escalation of war, the worsening of the climate crisis and the consequences, including economic, of the pandemic, an initiative was needed to "connect different worlds, helping the religious worlds to 'come out' and meet with the realities of suffering in this world of ours".

This is why the meeting is being held on two levels:

• The conference at the 'La Nuvola' Congress Centre in Rome, which opens in plenary on the 23rd in the afternoon with the voices of great representatives of the political-institutional world: Andrea Riccardi, Italian President Sergio Mattarella, the French President Emmanuel Macron and Mohamed Bazoum from Niger, a key country in the fight against jihadism and the transit of migrants, will dialogue in an interesting Africa-Europe comparison. These voices are echoed by those of religions: Card. Matteo Zuppi, the French rabbi Haim Korsia, the secretary of the Islamic World League, Al Issa, together with young witnesses to the tragedy of the war in Ukraine. On the morning of the 24th and 25th, a series of forums will address highly relevant issues, such as the ecological question, migration, the value of saving lives, the war that challenges Europe, and more religious topics, such as prayer, the Word of God, and a common Easter, a crucial theme of ecumenical dialogue.
• The ceremony of Prayer for Peace at the Colosseum on 25 October afternoon, with the presence of Pope Francis and representatives of world religions.

This event was not only born as a reaction to the current moment of war, but is also connected to a long history of commitment of Sant'Egidio for peace, as also signified by the 30th anniversary of peace in Mozambique, celebrated a few days ago. The current situation in the world, in fact, calls for new ways of dialogue, in a common effort to imagine an alternative to the current scenario of war and build peace.

Source: Sant' Egidio

"The Cry for Peace" ended with the final ceremony at the Colosseum in the presence of Pope Francis and representatives of the world religions. The different religions gathered for prayer, each in their own place to invoke peace according to their different traditions. The Christians prayed together inside the amphitheatre. In front of the Colosseum the religions gathered for the Final Ceremony.