Posted on 10/07/2026 10:58:35 AM PDT by ebb tide
VATICAN CITY (LifeSiteNews) — Pope Leo XIV will travel to Assisi on October 27 to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the controversial interreligious prayer gathering launched by Pope John Paul II in 1986, together with representatives of the world’s religions.
On October 6, a press conference organized by the Community of Sant’Egidio announced that the international meeting marking the 40th anniversary of the World Day of Prayer for Peace convened by John Paul II in 1986 will take place in Assisi from October 25 to 27. The event will bring together 384 representatives of religions, cultures, and institutions from 53 countries, with 155 speakers participating in 24 thematic forums. Pope Leo XIV will preside over the Christian prayer service in the Lower Basilica of St. Francis and will deliver the concluding address in the square in front of the basilica.
Marco Impagliazzo, president of the Community of Sant’Egidio, quoting the historian Alberto Melloni, stated that Assisi interreligious gatherings represent “a turning point in contemporary Catholicism’s attitude towards other religions, and a turning point in the vision that non-Christian religions have of Christianity.”
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Over the course of the gathering, 13 separate venues will be used for simultaneous prayer by the different religious groups, which organizers say is intended to avoid the appearance of “religious syncretism,” in keeping with John Paul II’s original vision. At the conclusion of the meeting, participants are expected to sign and proclaim a joint message of peace addressed to the world.
In addition to the Pope, Cardinal Matteo Maria Zuppi will also be present, not only in his capacity as president of the Italian Bishops’ Conference but also as a leading figure within the Community of Sant’Egidio, as well as Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo, archbishop of Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The gathering will feature Andrea Riccardi, the founder of the Community of Sant’Egidio; the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople; Nasaruddin Umar, Indonesia’s minister of Religious Affairs and imam of Jakarta’s mosque; and Hala al-Karib, a Sudanese activist. Chief Rabbi of France Haim Korsia will also be present.
On September 28, during the Pope’s apostolic journey through France, together with other representatives of religions, Korsia signed the Metz Appeal in the presence of Leo XIV, a document that echoes the “Spirit of Assisi” and once again proposes all religions as necessary instruments for “disarming” the world.
The topics of the 24 scheduled forums cover a broad range of issues, including disarmament, climate change, and migration. These discussion sessions will feature representatives of major secular and globalist organizations, foremost among them the Gates Foundation, as well as a number of secular intellectuals.
“The theme of the spiritual unification of the world is something that is truly important … to infuse a discourse on universal fraternity, Fratelli tutti, into different cultural and religious contexts,” Impagliazzo stated.
According to Impagliazzo, the “spiritual unification” of the world is necessary to counter the resurgence of nationalism, which he says is undermining the multilateralism promoted by international bodies such as the United Nations and the European Union. Religions, on his account, can serve as useful instruments in the hands of these institutions for reaffirming their vision of the world.
During the press conference, Impagliazzo also made critical reference to the objections raised by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre from the time of the first 1986 gathering: “I remember the Lefebvrists, the most ferocious critics … because it was believed that continuing these meetings would pose risks of turning the Church into a spectacle … or even of syncretism…. No syncretism: everyone according to their own traditions.”
On October 27, 1986, at the invitation of Pope John Paul II and with the close cooperation of the Community of Sant’Egidio, which decided not to limit the “Spirit of Assisi” to a one-time event, 130 representatives of various Christian denominations and world religions gathered in Assisi for the World Day of Prayer for Peace.
The event immediately provoked indignation in broad sectors of the Church. Among the most controversial episodes was the placement of a statue of Buddha on the tabernacle inside the Church of St. Peter in Assisi.
On October 28, 1999, John Paul II renewed the interreligious gathering with a new large assembly held between Rome and Assisi. On that occasion, Bishop Bernard Fellay of the Society of St. Pius X sent a formal letter of protest to the pontiff, denouncing the revival of a scandal that placed the one true Church founded by Christ on the same level as pagan and heretical religions.
Subsequently, on January 24, 2002, the third interreligious gathering took place in Assisi, once again convened by John Paul II in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in New York. Particularly scandalous for many Catholics was the joint prayer of Catholic representatives alongside non-Christian religious leaders.
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With the election of Pope Benedict XVI, the Vatican hierarchy attempted to recalibrate ecumenical dialogue, but events such as his visit to Istanbul’s Blue Mosque on November 30, 2006, demonstrated substantial continuity with the line of the “Spirit of Assisi.”
On October 27, 2011, Benedict XVI convened the fourth Assisi interreligious meeting, to mark the 25th anniversary of the first prayer gathering. At this meeting, Pope Benedict decided to include atheists and non-believers among the official guests invited to the Basilica of Saint Mary of the Angels.
On September 20, 2016, Pope Francis presided over the fifth interreligious gathering marking the 30th anniversary of the original event, bolstered in part by the significant influence of the Community of Sant’Egidio on the agenda and orientation of his pontificate.
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On September 28, during the Pope’s apostolic journey through France, together with other representatives of religions, Korsia signed the Metz Appeal in the presence of Leo XIV, a document that echoes the “Spirit of Assisi” and once again proposes all religions as necessary instruments for “disarming” the world.
The topics of the 24 scheduled forums cover a broad range of issues, including disarmament, climate change, and migration. These discussion sessions will feature representatives of major secular and globalist organizations, foremost among them the Gates Foundation, as well as a number of secular intellectuals.
According to Impagliazzo, the “spiritual unification” of the world is necessary to counter the resurgence of nationalism, which he says is undermining the multilateralism promoted by international bodies such as the United Nations and the European Union. Religions, on his account, can serve as useful instruments in the hands of these institutions for reaffirming their vision of the world.
So religions, including Catholicism, are to be useful instruments to serve the UN and EU!
Ping
Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father but by me..”
(Not Caucus)
.
To Disarm The World.
How does the Catholic church even continue to exist?
It should always be the other way around. To tell all those nutters and oddballs:
The door is open for all to the Catholic Church. Please come in, attend instruction, be baptized, confirmed and partake of first communion with the faithful.
That is The Message.
I care not what they say or believe. It’s nonsense.
I see that the Ecumenical Patriarch will also attend this bogus “festival”, dedicated to the “unification of all religions”!
Orthodox Christians should live in peace with non-Christians—but work and pray for the conversion to Christ of all people!
Fortunately, we are seeing many baptisms and chrismations! Thanks be to God!
From the original unedited Saint Michael Prayer:
...” These most crafty enemies have filled and inebriated with gall and bitterness the Church, the Spouse of the Immaculate Lamb, and have laid impious hands on her most sacred possessions. In the Holy Place itself, where has been set up the See of the most holy Peter and the Chair of Truth for the light of the world, they have raised the throne of their abominable impiety, with the iniquitous design that when the Pastor has been struck, the sheep may be scattered…”
What did Leo XIII already know?
Scattered sheep we are!
From the original unedited Saint Michael Prayer:
...” These most crafty enemies have filled and inebriated with gall and bitterness the Church, the Spouse of the Immaculate Lamb, and have laid impious hands on her most sacred possessions. In the Holy Place itself, where has been set up the See of the most holy Peter and the Chair of Truth for the light of the world, they have raised the throne of their abominable impiety, with the iniquitous design that when the Pastor has been struck, the sheep may be scattered…”
What did Leo XIII already know?
Scattered sheep we are!
Thanks for the timely reminder.
St. Francis was lacing the “Spirit of Assisi” when he tried to convert the sultan.
“Lacing “ ? What does that mean?
Sorry. I meant to type “Lacking”
Texas eagle “How does the Catholic church even continue to exist?”
It exists despite the best efforts of clergy to destroy it.
If it was purely left to human power, the Catholic church would have crumbled centuries ago.
The only, sole reason it continues to exist is because of the grace of God.
Jesus promised that He would never let the Church He founded fIl. And it hasn’t despite many attempts internal and external
10 Commandments
1. “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.”
2. “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image.”
You should be grateful that it does, and has for 1993 years
Meh. I’m sure the people who were burned at the stake and subject to torture for questioning the Catholic church’s beliefs about planetary motion would say otherwise. As would Galileo. Which makes me wonder. Does the Catholic church still teach that the sun orbits the earth?
The Catholic church knew very early on that the Sun did not orbit the Earth, like most civilixatiins knew early on. They were only concerned with traumatizing the common people.
You should read “How the Catholic Church Saved Western Civilization”.You, among all others, would learn the most.
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