Pope Leo XIV will travel to Assisi later this month to join religious leaders from around the world in prayer for peace, marking 40 years since St. John Paul II convened the historic World Day of Prayer for Peace in the Italian city.
The 2026 gathering will take place Oct. 25–27 under the theme “Disarmed and Disarming Peace,” words drawn from Pope Leo himself. According to Vatican News, the Holy Father will participate on Oct. 27, the anniversary of the groundbreaking interreligious gathering held in Assisi in 1986.
That original meeting brought representatives of the world’s religions together at the invitation of St. John Paul II to pray for peace. The event helped inspire what became known as the “Spirit of Assisi,” an ongoing effort to encourage dialogue and peaceful cooperation among people of different faiths.
The Community of Sant’Egidio has continued that effort through annual gatherings held throughout Europe and elsewhere.
This year, 384 representatives of religions, cultures and institutions from 53 countries are expected to participate, according to Vatican News. The gathering will also feature 155 speakers across 24 thematic forums examining issues including war and peace, prayer, migration, disarmament, Christian unity, poverty, young people, the media and contemporary martyrs.
Marco Impagliazzo, president of the Community of Sant’Egidio, said the message first expressed in Assisi four decades ago has become even more important amid division and conflict around the world.
“In Assisi,” Impagliazzo said, “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.”
He described today’s world as “very frightened, fearful and torn apart, prey to nationalism and racism—a world that needs to be reunited once again.”
Assisi’s local bishop, Bishop Felice Accrocca, welcomed the announcement of Pope Leo’s participation.
“We are truly delighted by the Holy Father’s return to Assisi,” Accrocca said, according to Vatican News. “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.”
Pope Leo’s visit will culminate on October 27 with a special prayer for peace. The Pope will pray with the Christian community in the Lower Basilica of St. Francis, where both he and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew will offer meditations.
The gathering will then move outside to the piazza before the Basilica of St. Francis.
There, Impagliazzo said, Pope Leo “will give the world his message of peace, which is increasingly necessary.”
Four decades after St. John Paul II brought religious leaders to Assisi for an unprecedented day of prayer, Pope Leo will return to the city to renew the appeal that inspired that historic gathering: that faith must never become a justification for violence, and that believers can instead stand together in the pursuit of peace.
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