Pope Francis, during his weekly audience, remembers the first international day of human fraternity, which falls on February 4. He also announced his participation in a virtual meeting with the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, the UN Secretary-General and other leaders.
By Vatican News staff reporter
During his general audience on Wednesday, Pope Francis recalled that Thursday, February 4, marks the first International Day of Human Fraternity.
The World Day was established by a Resolution of the United Nations General Assembly in December 2020.
The initiative also notes the signing of the Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together on February 4, 2019, by Pope Francis and Grand Imam al-Azhar (Cairo), Ahmad Al-Tayyeb, in Abu Dhabi.
The Pope and the Grand Imam spent almost half a year drafting the document before his apostolic visit to the United Arab Emirates.
Celebrating the Fraternity
During the audience, the Pope said he was pleased that “nations around the world are joining this holiday, which aims to promote interreligious and intercultural dialogue.”
He also told believers that on Thursday afternoon he would attend a virtual meeting with Grand Imam al-Azhar, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres and other leaders.
The UN resolution, Pope Francis stressed, “recognizes the contribution that dialogue between all religious groups can make to a better awareness and understanding of the common values shared by all mankind.”
“May this be our prayer today and our commitment every day of the year,” he said.
Award for Human Fraternity
The Zayed Prize for Human Fraternity, which is inspired by the Human Fraternity Document, will also be awarded on February 4.
The meeting and the award ceremony will be broadcast in several languages, starting at 14:30 (Rome time) – 13.30 (GMT time) – by Vatican News, the multimedia information portal of the Holy See and broadcast by Vatican Media.