During his weekly General Audience, Pope Francis recalls the first International Day of the Human Brotherhood, which falls on February 4. He also announces his participation in a virtual meeting with Al-Azhar’s Grand Imam, the UN Secretary-General and other leaders.
By the Vatican News staff reporter
During his general audience on Wednesday, Pope Francis recalled that Thursday, February 4, is the first International Day of the Human Fraternity.
World Day was established by a resolution of the United Nations General Assembly in December 2020.
The initiative also notes the signing of the document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Coexistence on February 4, 2019 by Pope Francis and the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar (Cairo), Ahmad Al-Tayyeb, in Abu Dhabi.
The Pope and the Great Imam spent nearly half a year preparing the document for his apostolic visit to the United Arab Emirates.
Celebrating brotherhood
During the audience, the Pope said he was delighted that “the nations of the entire world are participating in this celebration, aimed at promoting interfaith and intercultural dialogue.”
He also told the faithful that on Thursday afternoon he would participate in a virtual meeting with the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, and other leaders.
The UN resolution, underlined Pope Francis, “” recognizes the contribution that dialogue between all religious groups can make to a better 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.
Award for Human Fraternity
The Zayed Award for Human Fraternity will also be presented on February 4, inspired by the Human Fraternity Document.
The meeting and awards ceremony will be broadcast from 2.30pm (Rome time) – 1.30pm (GMT time) in various languages by Vatican News, the Holy See’s multimedia information portal, and broadcast by Vatican Media.