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In his message to the International Encounter for Peace held in Assisi in September 2006, Benedict XVI wrote: "The initiative John Paul II promoted 20 years ago has acquired the features of an accurate prophecy". Over the past twenty years the Community of Sant’Egidio has striven to sustain and to spread this very spirit of Assisi, which was enclosed in John Paul II’s invitation. At the close of the historic Day of Prayer of October 27, 1986, he called upon everyone: “Let us continue to spread this message of Peace and to live the spirit of Assisi”. From this call arose a pilgrimage of peace, which has, year after year, made a halt in cities all over Europe and the Mediterranean. Two encounters in Rome, (1987 and 88) were followed by one in Warsaw, entitled “ War never again ”, in September 1989, marking fifty years since the start of the second world war. Then came the encounters of Bari, Malta and, in 1992, one held in Brussels: “Europe, religions, peace”. In 1993 the pilgrimage visited Milan, and in the years thereafter, Assisi and Florence. A special meeting was held in Jerusalem, in 1995, in the heart of the holy city. It had as its theme, “Together in Jerusalem: Hebrews, Christians and Moslems”. In 1998 there was an extraordinary encounter in Bucharest “Peace is the name of God: God, humankind, its peoples”, which paved the way for the first visit paid by John Paul II to an Orthodox land, in Bucharest, a few months after. Encounters have also taken place in Lisbon, Barcelona, Palermo, Aachen, then in Milan and in Lyon. To commemorate the twentieth anniversary of the first Day of Prayer, meetings were called in Washington, then in Assisi once more. The next Encounter, to be held from October 21 to October 23, will happen in Naples, a city marked out by its history, and by its location at the heart of the Mediterranean: at the crossroads of different cultural and religious traditions. The chosen theme, “For a world without violence: religions and cultures in dialogue”. Faced with violence which is both widespread and permeating many levels of our society: in the confrontational nature of the current international situation, but also in the alienation felt by contemporary humanity – in the rich North, as in the poor South of our world – the sense of urgency is tangible. We have to reaffirm, with courage, the way of dialogue and cooperation between religions and between cultures. In Naples, using different languages, addressing different cultures, one message will be enounced: Only through dialogue and open exchange of ideas with the other it is possible to construct that authentic civilization, based on living together, which is so necessary for every contemporary society. Naples, at the heart of the Mediterranean, will host representatives from religions and cultures of the world from October 21 to 23, becoming a capital city of peace, facing up to the challenges, the questions, and above all the expectations of men and women, of entire peoples. Three days of encounter, of prayer, and of dialogue, building together, through dialogue, “a world without violence”.
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