Archb. Paglia on the spirit of Assisi

(Vatican Radio) As the 3-day event of the World Day of Prayer for Peace concludes, Pope Francis will be traveling to Assisi on Tuesday, 20 September to participate in the final meeting. The event, which is promoted by the Sant’Egidio Community, was first held in October of 1986 by Pope Saint John Paul II. The Community has more than 60,000 members, spanning from 73 countries around the globe. The various global communities share values and principles that characterize the Sant’Egidio Community. Thirty years later, men and women from various religious and geographical origins still unite in Assisi, this year with the title, “Thirst for Peace. Religions and Cultures in Dialogue.” They call for coexistence, peace, and unity. 

Also present in Assisi is Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, chancellor for the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family and president of the Pontifical Academy for Life. 

Listen: 

Archbishop Paglia says that peace is possible in Assisi: “Not peace in abstract, in theory, but a peace among people who are different in belief, in faith, in culture. The sign of the current time is the reality of Assisi”.

He believes that this event is a great gesture towards peace in a world of conflict, difficulty, and violence: “Difficulties can be overcome if we obey the Holy Spirit of Assisi. In the sense the presence here of the Pope and a lot of religious leaders means that their people can follow them. Their people can believe that peace and the dialogue are possible”.

Pagila says that the spirit of Assisi is alive and is the lifestyle to live by. He says that “We are in this world to live in peace with each other and our differences in the sense that the spirit of Assisi is a common spirit. It is to be the spirit of the common people, is to be the spirit of leaders, and it is to be the spirit of all people who lead in their different fields.

He says, “We hope that the prophecy of Assisi can reach the hearts of the common people and of the leaders of this world”.

The Archbishop also speaks of his hopes for this important event.

“I think that the Pope, as a father, as a common father, will try to gather everyone. Not in order to impose his Catholic or Christian vision, but in order to push as a church to guide all people in order to become the one family created by the Holy Father” he said.