Faith

Pope Leo XIV to Assisi gathering: “Only peace is holy” as 40th peace meeting closes

Assisi, Italy • October 27, 2026 • By Press Pass USA

Editorial illustration: the Basilica of Saint Francis in Assisi at dusk, with religious leaders walking together in the piazza

Editorial illustration — Press Pass USA

“We must rebuild peace everywhere, not prepare for more wars! War can never be waged in the name of God!” Pope Leo XIV said in a video message Tuesday to religious leaders closing the international peace meeting in Assisi, 40 years after St. John Paul II first gathered the world's religions there to pray for peace.

“For us believers, to fight in the name of religion means, in reality, to strike at religion itself. There is no such thing as a holy war: only peace is holy!” the Pope said, quoting his encyclical “Magnifica humanitas,” according to LaPresse's report of the message.

The three-day meeting, organized by the Community of Sant'Egidio and titled “Unarmed and Disarming Peace” — a phrase from the Pope's own recent book — ran from October 25 to 27 and marked the 40th in the series begun when John Paul II invited representatives of all world religions to Assisi in 1986. Organizers said 384 representatives of religions, cultures and institutions from 53 countries took part, with 155 speakers across 24 forums.

Pope Leo did not travel to Assisi himself, on his doctors' advice following surgery on October 13; he sent the video message instead. Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople also addressed the closing gathering. Community president Marco Impagliazzo said the world today is “very frightened, fearful and torn apart, prey to nationalism and racism — a world that needs to be reunited once again.”

Sources: LaPresse (Oct 27, 2026); Melbourne Catholic (Oct 27, 2026); Community of Sant'Egidio via Vatican News.