On Sunday, September 22nd, the International Meeting "Imaginer la Paix" - "Imagine Peace" will open in Paris. Organized by the Sant'Egidio Community and the Archdiocese of Paris, the event will bring together hundreds of religious leaders, women and men of culture from diverse backgrounds, and a vast crowd - including many young people - united in the dream of a world without war or violence.
At a press conference held in Paris on the morning of September 20th at the Collège des Bernardins, Marco Impagliazzo and the Archbishop of Paris, Laurent Ulrich, outlined the themes and objectives of this meeting, which will not be "an attempt to mediate peace but rather a protest against war, giving a voice to those who suffer from it."
"The pursuit of peace," said Impagliazzo, "must not stop because there are millions of people suffering from war, people who have no voice in the international community, whose suffering is not heard because the noise of weapons is too loud."
"A meeting that is both international and interreligious to reflect on peace and to give opportunities for dialogue to men and women from different countries and origins," added Archbishop Ulrich, "so that they may be peacemakers, men and women of hope, capable of putting the desire for peace back at the heart of life, even in very difficult circumstances in a world as complex as the one we live in today."
The meeting will take place over three days:
On Sunday, September 22nd, the grand opening assembly will be held at the Palais des Congrès with the President of the French Republic, Emmanuel Macron, the Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, the Rector of the Grand Mosque of Paris, Chems-Eddine Hafiz, the Grand Rabbi of France, Haim Korsia, and the Catholic Archbishop, Laurent Ulrich, the founder of the Sant'Egidio Community, Andrea Riccardi, Amin Maalouf, secretary of the Académie Française, the Primate of the Anglican Communion, Justin Welby, "a sign that beyond Brexit there is still a tunnel connecting the United Kingdom and France. There will also be a testimony from Alina Hassani, a woman from Afghanistan, who arrived in Belgium thanks to the humanitarian corridors that have saved thousands of people from the hands of traffickers. Go to the opening ceremony.
The 23rd of September and the morning of the 24th are dedicated to forums on topics ranging from spiritual reflections to current affairs, always, however, in the spirit of dialogue. Go to the PDF program to see the list of forums, the speakers, and choose the forum that interests you.
To participate in the forums, you need to register on this page: All the information to participate in person.
The closing ceremony, on Tuesday, September 24th, will take place starting at 6:30 pm on the parvis of Notre Dame Cathedral, where a message from Pope Francis is expected.
- The opening ceremony on Sunday, September 22 at the Palais des Congrès, 4:30 PM
- Three forums for each section (morning 23/9, afternoon 23/9, morning 24/9)
- The Christian prayer on 24/9 at 4 PM
- The final ceremony on the parvis of Notre Dame on 24/9 at 6 PM
Last updated: 21 Sept 2024