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Pope Leo to visit Assisi 40 years after historic prayer meeting
From October 25 to 27, Assisi will host an interreligious peace prayer, the 40th annual meeting in a series initiated by Pope St John Paul II.
By Francesca Sabatinelli
40 years ago, on October 27, 1986, Pope St John Paul II took part in the historic World Day of Prayer for Peace in Assisi, central Italy. For the first time in history, representatives of all world religions were invited by the Pope to pray together for peace.
Among those inspired by that meeting was the Community of Sant’Egidio, a Catholic lay organisation, which since then has continued to promote what is known as the ‘Spirit of Assisi’ every year across Europe and beyond.
This year’s event be attended by Pope Leo XIV. “We are truly delighted by the Holy Father’s return to Assisi,” said the local bishop, Monsignor Felice Accrocca. “We firmly believe that the Pope’s presence, together with all the other religious leaders, can reinforce the shared journey against every form of violence.”
The meeting in Assisi in 1986
The peacemaking role of religion
The 2026 edition, which will take place in Assisi from October 25 to 27 and marks the 40th anniversary of the original gathering, was presented today at the headquarters of the Holy See’s Dicastery for Communication.
The event was presented by Marco Impagliazzo, president of the Community of Sant’Egidio. “In Assisi,” he explained, “a new and creative perspective for interreligious dialogue was born. Over the past 40 years, that spirit has become a necessity in a globalized world.”
Today, Impagliazzo said, the world is “very frightened, fearful and torn apart, prey to nationalism and racism—a world that needs to be reunited once again.”
“But”, he continued, “if there is no spiritual unification of the world—and this is the message of Assisi and of all religions—it will be difficult for men and women to unite and to think of themselves as ‘brothers and sisters to all,’ as Pope Francis would say.”
Marco Impagliazzo presents the event
A disarmed and disarming peace
The title of Assisi 2026—“Disarmed and Disarming Peace”—comes from Pope Leo’s own words. The gathering will reaffirm that peace is possible, just as it was 40 years ago with Pope John Paul II and as it was at the 30th anniversary in 2016 with Pope Francis.
A total of 384 representatives of religions, cultures and institutions from 53 countries will take part in the event. There will be 155 speakers participating in 24 thematic forums, addressing subjects including peace, prayer, the economy, conflicts, children and young people, the media, migration, disarmament, humanity, Christian unity, dialogue across the Mediterranean, the poor, and contemporary martyrs.
The Pope will be in Assisi on the final day of the event, October 27. He will pray for peace together with the Christian community in the Lower Basilica, during a special prayer for peace in which both he and Patriarch Bartholomew will offer a meditation.
Afterward, Impagliazzo concluded, in the piazza outside the Basilica of Saint Francis, Pope Leo XIV “will give the world his message of peace, which is increasingly necessary.”
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