To “safeguard humanity” and help build a “fraternal city” and a “civilization of love.” This is the task entrusted to Pope Leo XIV by Bernhard Scholz, president of the Meeting for Friendship Among Peoples, during their encounter in the Grand Auditorium of the Rimini Fair.
Scholz welcomed the Pontiff on behalf of the 3,000 volunteers, speakers, artists and participants in the event, expressing the Meeting’s gratitude and joy for a visit that had been eagerly anticipated.
The president traced the origins and mission of the Rimini gathering, born as a place of encounter, dialogue and exchange among people from all over the world, recalling the Christian experience and the teaching of the founder of Communion and Liberation, Father Luigi Giussani.
His address also focused on peace, justice and freedom, along with a reminder of the charge left by Pope St John Paul II during his 1982 visit to the Meeting: to build, through friendship, a “civilization of love.”
Scholz then recalled Pope Leo XIV’s call to “safeguard humanity,” pledging the Meeting’s commitment to helping build a society founded on brotherhood. The message was symbolically underscored by the presence of the Yasmeen Choir of Jerusalem, made up of young people from different religions and cultures, performing alongside the Communion and Liberation choir of Rimini.
Also speaking in the Grand Auditorium was Davide Prosperi, president of Communion and Liberation, who described Pope Leo XIV’s presence as a particularly significant moment for the movement.
Prosperi reaffirmed CL’s commitment to bringing a Christian presence into everyday life, through works of charity, the proclamation of the Gospel, cultural engagement and the promotion of peace, with special attention to people and communities living in territories scarred by war.
Finally, the Pope was entrusted with the families, communities and works of Communion and Liberation, with a request that he accompany the movement in its service to the Church and to society.
