Spirit of Assisi 2026

30/09/2026 | Na stronie od 27/10/2026

Source: Friars Minor Conventual OFM Conv

October 30, 2026

From October 25 to 27, 2026, we celebrated the 40th anniversary of the Spirit of Assisi, an interfaith prayer for peace initiated by St. John Paul II. The theme of this year’s events was “Unarmed and Disarming Peace: The International Meeting for Peace in Assisi.”

In the days leading up to the main gathering (October 25–26), many conferences and panel discussions took place in both Assisi and Santa Maria degli Angeli. It is impossible to cover them all, as they ran concurrently at many different locations. Anyone interested can visit the official website of the Community of Sant’Egidio, where the complete materials are available:

For me, the event also had a very personal dimension. It gave me the opportunity to reconnect with people I had met over the past few months during my travels and visits. At the same time, it allowed me to meet new people with whom we intend to pursue joint ecumenical and interreligious projects in the future.

Contrary to views expressed in some ecclesiastical and religious circles, interest in dialogue and the need for it have by no means diminished, nor has dialogue lost its appeal. On the contrary, many people have come to deeply desire dialogue as they seek to interpret the signs of the times correctly. We ask ourselves the same questions and often arrive at similar answers. People from different religions and denominations seek similar spiritual experiences. Some are simply seeking God in a world that tries to marginalize Him or develops theories suggesting that He has supposedly abandoned the world. Interreligious and ecumenical dialogue is often the only effective way to foster mutual understanding and acceptance. It also helps safeguard peace, especially inner peace, the peace of the heart. I believe this is precisely the peace we pray for in Assisi. Let us share the peace we carry within ourselves.

Thus, the Assisi gathering was and remains essential to contemporary society, which is highly diverse in terms of origin, religious affiliation, language, skin color, and even sociopolitical convictions. Of course, we cannot entirely avoid the risk of religion being exploited for political ends. This is precisely why gatherings of religious leaders from around the world help preserve the credibility and effectiveness of dialogue while safeguarding the necessary balance between faith and politics. In this context, dialogue requires wisdom and discernment. In Poland, there is a simple, everyday saying: “Those who are wise will understand.”

Finally, a brief note. With the help of Mr. Sergio FUSETTI, head of the technical office at the Sacred Convent of Assisi, we organized an exhibition highlighting selected projects and activities of the International Franciscan Center for Dialogue (CEFID). Framed photographs were hung in the Lorenzetti Room at the Sacred Convent’s Colle del Paradiso Conference Center. They were already exhibited years ago, most likely during the time of Friar Silvestro BEJAN. A lovely Franciscan touch!”

Friar Sławomir KLEIN
General Delegate for Ecumenism and Interreligious Dialogue (EDI)

APPEAL FOR PEACE 2026

Women and men of different religions, people of goodwill, we have gathered in Assisi, aware that peace is a “workshop open to everyone,” and that we all share the responsibility of finding paths towards an “unarmed and disarming peace.”

Over these forty years, we have prayed, dreamed and worked for a more fraternal world, free from war. We have experienced the power that prayer has to shape history. We have seen the Berlin Wall fall, along with so many walls that had divided the world for generations. We have seen wars that had dragged on for years come to an end through peace agreements. We have seen the terrible nuclear arsenal being reduced. The longing of peoples emerging from the Second World War, who cried out, “Never again war!”, has become more evident.

Today, the world suffers from a lack of dialogue and vision: this puts humanity’s greatest achievements and the protection of the Earth at risk. We cannot allow the world to surrender definitively to the logic of war and conflict in international relations. With the weak strength of believers, in the name of humanity, we repeat in our own words the appeal of the ancient prophets: let us transform weapons and expenditure on armaments into water, food, education, work, clean air, livable cities for all generations, and healthcare accessible to everyone.

“We are all in the same boat”: the pandemics, the climate crisis, wars, migration, the nuclear threat and rearmament, and the challenges of artificial intelligence all show us this. This is why it is essential to broaden dialogue. We need a dialogue on a planetary scale for the good of humanity.

Either we succeed in putting an end to wars, or wars will truly put an end to humanity. There is only one world, our common home: we have inherited it, and we must leave it as such to future generations. Let us therefore free it from the nuclear nightmare! Rearmament is a slippery slope: we must de-escalate!

Let us not multiply, in our hearts and at our borders, those walls that prevent us from seeing others as brothers and sisters. Let us remember: only peace is the true remedy for fear. It disarms hearts through dialogue and enables us to recognize in all peoples the features of our shared humanity.

Enough of wars! Enough of the culture of war! Let us choose the creativity of dialogue and the boldness of peace, to heal the world of the disease of war and reduce social conflicts. We call for an end to the cult of force and the pedagogy of fear and blood, which blur the line between good and evil, numb our sense of humanity and foster a culture of death. It is time to rehabilitate peace.

May every place of worship and prayer become a home of peace and human solidarity! Religions offer what they have received from God: love, wisdom, the value of life, an understanding of human weaknesses, and forgiveness. They are increasingly aware that peoples share a common destiny. For no one can save themselves alone, not even nations.

We choose a culture and a pedagogy of nonviolence and dialogue.

No war is holy. War can never be waged in the name of God! Yes, only peace is holy.

May the Almighty grant the world the most precious gift of Peace, which humanity needs today more than ever.

Assisi, October 27, 2026

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APPEAL FOR PEACE 2026