Pope Francis, during his weekly general audience, recalls the first International Day of Human Brotherhood, which takes place on February 4th. 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 hearing on Wednesday, Pope Francis recalled that Thursday, February 4, is the first International Day of Human Brotherhood.
World Day was established by a resolution of the United Nations General Assembly in December 2020.
The initiative also takes note of the signing of the document on human brotherhood for world peace and cohabitation 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 great imam drafted the document for almost half a year before his apostolic visit to the United Arab Emirates.
Brotherhood celebrates
During the hearing, the pope said he was delighted that “the nations of the whole world are participating in this celebration, which aims to promote interreligious and intercultural dialogue.”
He also told believers he would attend a virtual meeting with the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar on Thursday afternoon, with United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres and other leaders.
The UN resolution, underlined by Pope Francis, “acknowledges 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 it be our prayer today and our dedication every day of the year,” he said.
Human Brotherhood Award
The Zayed Human Brotherhood Award, inspired by the Human Brotherhood document, will also be presented on February 4th.
The meeting and awards ceremony will be streamed in 14 languages (Roman time) – 13:30 (GMT time) in several languages - by Vatican News, the Holy See’s multimedia information portal, and broadcast by Vatican Media.