Religious leaders look forward to renewing 'spirit of Assisi' with pope

Submitted on September 15, 2011

Catholic News Service

Pope John Paul II gathered with other religious leaders during a 1986 interfaith prayer gathering in Assisi, Italy. Pope Benedict XVI has convoked a new gathering in the Italian town Oct. 27 to mark the 25th anniversary of the event.

CNS file photo/KNA

MUNICH — St. Francis of Assisi appeals to believers and nonbelievers alike because they long for a world where people see each other as brothers and sisters and where they recognize and respect creation as a gift to all, said the superior of the Franciscan convent in Assisi. Conventual Franciscan Father Giuseppe Piemontese, custodian of the Sacred Convent of St. Francis, was one of eight religious leaders who spoke about "The Spirit of Assisi" during an interreligious meeting Sept. 11-13 in Munich. The meeting was sponsored by the Community of Sant'Egidio, a Rome-based lay movement.