Pope Meets With Leaders of Sant' Egidio Community

Andrea Riccardi, the community's founder, was present at Monday's meeting in which he personally informed the Pope of the event titled "The Civilization of Peace: Religions and Cultures in Dialogue."

VATICAN CITY (Zenit) - Representatives of the Community of Sant'Egidio presented to Benedict XVI the program for the 2008 Interreligious Prayer Meeting for Peace.

Andrea Riccardi, the community's founder, was present at Monday's meeting in which he personally informed the Pope of the event titled "The Civilization of Peace: Religions and Cultures in Dialogue." It will be held Nov. 16-18 in Cyprus.

Sant'Egidio organizes this meeting every year to keep alive the spirit of the World Day of Prayer called by John Paul II in Assisi 1986. Benedict XVI was present at the 2007 meeting in Naples.Sant'Egidio is organizing the prayer meeting in conjunction with the Orthodox archbishop of Cyprus, Chrysostom II.

Marco Impagliazzo, the president of Sant'Egidio, and Bishop Vincenzo Paglia of Terni-Narni-Amelia, were also present at the meeting.The 40-year-old community informed in a communiqué that in the meeting with Benedict XVI they also discussed "poverty in the world and the care of AIDS in Africa."

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