Elijah Interfaith Institute: Global House of Friendship and Hope:

Source: Elijah Interfaith Institute

We Are Grateful for a Major Step Forward

This year marks the 800th anniversary of the passing away of St. Francis of Assisi, and much attention will be focused on Assisi. We are delighted to be part of this exciting year, with major steps forward on this important year. The Global House of Friendship and Hope will rise besides the Porziuncola, the famous basilica beloved by St. Francis of Assisi, where he passed away.

On January 27 th , Elijah Institute took a major step toward realizing its vision of a spiritual interreligious center/museum/experience in Assisi. After years of searching, negotiating and fundraising, we were able to complete the purchase of the Hotel Porziuncola, adjacent to the Basilica.

The hotel will be converted to an interfaith experience, focusing on three major themes – friendship, saints and prayer, all seen through an interreligious lens. The work of Elijah’s administrative board has born fruit and Elijah is entering a new phase of its organizational life. With a large property located in a major tourist/pilgrimage center, it is poised to share the vision and method it has cultivated for three decades, in encounters between religious leaders and scholars, and to make it broadly available. Assisi will serve as the launch pad for a museum experience that we hope to replicate elsewhere, especially in Jerusalem. In coming issues we will announce specific programs for 2026, scheduled to take place in Assisi, as part of our launch of the Global House, in the context of this important centenary.

A foretaste of the conceptual layout of the Global House can be found here

Please join us in gratitude for this major step and in hope for all the important work that we pray the Global House will achieve, in Assisi and elsewhere.