AMERICA BULLETIN (4 October 2011)
Pope Benedict XVI announced that he wished to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the historic meeting that took place in Assisi on 27 October 1986, at the wish of the late Pope John Paul II. On the day of the anniversary, 27 October this year, the Pope Benedict intends to hold a Day of reflection, dialogue and prayer for peace and justice in the world, making a pilgrimage to the home of Saint Francis and inviting fellow Christians from different denominations, representatives of the world’s religious traditions and also some atheists thinkers and writers as well. French writer Julia Kristeva, British philosopher Anthony Clifford Grayling, Mexican philosopher Guillermo Hurtado, Austrian thinker Walter Baier and Italian philosopher Remo Bodei are among the people invited to the pilgrimage.
The Day will take as its theme: Pilgrims of truth, pilgrims of peace.
The delegations will set off from Rome by train on the morning of 27 October, together with the Pope Benedict XVI. Upon arrival in Assisi, they will make their way to the Basilica of S. Maria degli Angeli, where the previous meetings will be recalled and the theme of the Day will be explored in greater depth. Leaders of some of the delegations present will make speeches and the Pope will likewise deliver an address.