August 2025
The Meeting of Rimini gratefully welcomes the appeal of Pope Leo XIV “to dedicate the day of August 22 to fasting and prayer, imploring the Lord to grant us peace and justice and to wipe away the tears of those who suffer because of ongoing armed conflicts.”
The day indicated by Pope Leo coincides with the opening day of the Meeting, which will begin at 12:00 with the conference “Mothers for Peace”. Speakers will include Layla al-Sheik and Elana Kaminka, Israeli and Palestinian mothers united by the pain of losing a child in the conflict, together with Sister Aziza, an Eritrean nun who has long been engaged in reconciliation processes in Israel and the Palestinian Territories.
Peace, a cross-cutting theme at the Meeting
The theme of peace will run throughout this year’s Meeting. Other testimonies will also be presented, such as those of Masao Tomonaga and Toshiyuki Mimaki, survivors of the atomic bomb and Nobel Peace Prize laureates 2024, as well as daily insights into religious freedom and the presence of Christians in conflict areas, including Syria, South Sudan, and Ukraine.
Peace will also be the focus of several exhibitions at this edition, in particular two: Prophecies for Peace and “…But I Am Alive,” Voices from Ukraine.
