His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew took part in an Interfaith Meeting on “No one is saved alone – Brotherhood and Peace”, organised by Sant'Egidio Community in Rome.
He is accompanied by the Metropolitan Emmanuel of France, Bishop Kassianos of Aravissos and Patriarchal Deacon Jacob Krochak.
The meeting was organized by the Rome-based Community of Sant’Egidio. Since St. John Paul II’s interreligious prayer for peace in Assisi in 1986, the community each year has invited religious, political and cultural leaders from around the world to gather to continue the dialogue and to pray for peace.
Patriarch Bartholomew told the congregation: "The world is experiencing a difficult period, but at the same time, a moment favorable for questioning ourselves, meditating, praying and acting to build a better society capable of facing the great challenges of the moment, which don’t impact only certain peoples and nations, but life itself in this marvelous home of ours — the world, a gift of the merciful God.”
Recognising the “divine work” present in the environment and in each person, he said, would help people understand that fraternity and peace are not simply pious words, but lead to “true freedom” and an understanding “in this dark hour that ‘no one is saved alone.'”
Tomorrow, His All Holiness will be awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Philosophy at the Amphitheatre of the Pontifical University of Antonianum.
During his visit to Rome, he will also pay a ceremonial visit to the Ambassadors of Turkey and Greece to the Vatican.
Pope Francis was also seen for the first time at a public function wearing a mask, something he’d previously been seen doing only in his transportation vehicle.
*Image sourced from Pentapostagma