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On the occasion of the thirtieth anniversary of the historic day of 27 October 1986 dedicated by John Paul II to interreligious dialogue, a meeting was held in Assisi "Silks of peace, religions and cultures in dialogue" organized by the Community of Sant'Egidio together with the Franciscan families and to the diocese of Assisi. More than 500 religious leaders have arrived in the city of Poverello (Christians, Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, Shintoists, Jains, Zoroastrians, Sikhs, Hindus and others), representatives of culture and institutions. From Pope Francis to the Patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew, from the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, to the Syrian Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch, Ephrem II, from the Muslims to the Jewish and Japanese Buddhism. Also present were the Italian President Sergio Mattarella and various intellectuals, including the sociologist Zygmunt Bauman, the Turkish writer Nedim Guersel and the Tunisian 2015 Nobel Peace Prize winners Hassine Abbasi and Amer Meherzi.

On October 27, 1986 in Assisi, Pope John Paul II summoned the leaders of other religious confessions, Christian and not, to ask for the gift of peace in the world. That day marked a great step forward in interreligious dialogue, despite the persistence of differences and their respective beliefs, but arousing political and theological perplexities, outside and within the Church. Since then times have changed and the world has experienced a spiral of widespread violence that has swept the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Europe, a long trail of blood that has touched Paris, Brussels, Nice, until to hit a small suburban church in France, in Rouen. In front of this world war "torn apart" the leaders of the religions, together with the intellectuals and people of good will, prayed together the God of Peace.

At the center of the meeting was the Prayer for Peace, which took place at the same time in different parts of the city according to the different religions. From each of these places a procession started towards the lower square of San Francesco where the final celebration took place. Here Pope Francis read an Appeal for Peace which was delivered by the children to the ambassadors present in Assisi, before the lighting of the candlesticks and the final exchange of a sign of peace.

Religions are the only reality that, by changing the heart of man and woman, can lead them on a path of peace. For this reason, many religious leaders gathered in Assisi to build peace and strengthen dialogue.

View of the movie related to the meeting
Reading and commenting of the Peace Appeal, signed by religious leaders