Pope Francis, during his weekly General Audience, remembers the first International Day of the Human Fraternity, which takes place on February 4th. He also announces his participation in a virtual meeting with the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, the UN Secretary General and other leaders.
Vatican News staff reporter
During his Wednesday General Audience, Pope Francis recalled that Thursday, February 4, marks the first International Day of Human Fraternity.
World Day was established by a United Nations General Assembly Resolution in December 2020.
The initiative also takes note of the signing of the Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and World Coexistence, on February 4, 2019, by Pope Francis and the Great Imam of Al-Azhar (Cairo), Ahmad Al-Tayyeb, in Abu Dhabi.
The Pope and the Grand Imam spent almost half a year writing the Document before their Apostolic Visit to the United Arab Emirates.
Celebrating the Fraternity
During the Audience, the Pope said he was satisfied with the fact that “the nations of the world are joining this celebration, which aims to promote interreligious and intercultural dialogue”.
He also told the faithful that, on Thursday afternoon, he will participate in a virtual meeting with the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, with the Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, and other leaders.
The UN Resolution, underlined Pope Francis, “‘recognizes the contribution that dialogue between all religious groups can make to a greater awareness and understanding of the common values shared by all humanity’.”
“May this be our prayer today and our commitment every day of the year,” he said.
Human Fraternity Award
The Zayed Human Fraternity Award, inspired by the Human Fraternity Document, will also be awarded on February 4.
The meeting and the awards ceremony will be broadcast in several languages from 2:30 pm (Rome time) – 1:30 pm (GMT time) – through Vatican News, the Holy See’s multimedia information portal, and broadcast by the Vatican media.