Pope Francis will attend an interreligious ceremony for peace in the heart of Rome’s historical center.
The historical square of Campidoglio, or Capitoline Hill, is home to one of Michelangelo’s most important square designs, Rome’s town hall, and the Capitoline Museums. However, on the afternoon of Tuesday, Oct. 20, it will also become the “capital of peace.”
The interreligious ceremony will remember the gatherings that John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and Pope Francis have had with religious leaders in Assisi.
It is organized by the lay Catholic community, Sant’Egidio. This year’s theme will be “No one is saved alone - Peace and Fraternity.”
Other participants will include the main leader of the Orthodox Church, Patriarch Bartholomew I, Chief Rabbi of France, Haim Korsia, and the Muslim General Secretary of the Higher Committee of Human Fraternity, Mohamed Mahmoud Abdel Salam.
Christian leaders will pray at the Basilica of Santa Maria in Ara Coeli and participants of other religious traditions will be praying in other respective places of worship.
After the ceremony, religious leaders, and the Italian President, Sergio Mattarella, will gather together in the Campidoglio Square for the final ceremony.
A minute of silence will be observed to remember the victims of wars and the coronavirus pandemic.
Christian Campos
