Pope sends message to meeting of Nobel Peace Laureates in Rome
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis sent “cordial greetings” to the participants of the 14th World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates, which opened in Rome on Friday.
The pontiff sent his greetings in a message, signed by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s Secretary of State.
“His Holiness is deeply grateful for the commitment of the Summit participants to promoting peace and fraternity among peoples, and for their efforts in finding solutions to the conflicts of our day,” reads the message.
The three-day meeting, which was initially to be held in South Africa but was relocated to Rome, is expected to honour late South African president Nelson Mandela, “whose legacy of non-violence and reconciliation continues to inspire the world,” reads the message.
Cardinal Parolin assured summit participants that “Pope Francis prays that all present may be renewed and encouraged in their urgent work, and that their labours may bear an abundant harvest of peace for the world.”
Read the full message below:
His Holiness Pope Francis was pleased to be informed that the XIV World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates will take place in Rome from 12 to 14 December 2014, and he sends cordial greetings to all gathered for this occasion. “In the heart of every man and woman is the desire for a full life, including that irrepressible longing for fraternity which draws us to fellowship with others and enables us to see them not as enemies or rivals but as brothers and sisters to be accepted and embraced” (Message for the 2014 World Day of Peace). His Holiness is deeply grateful for the commitment of the Summit participants to promoting peace and fraternity among peoples, and for their efforts in finding solutions to the conflicts of our day. As this meeting honours the memory of Nelson Mandela, whose legacy of non-violence and reconciliation continues to inspire the world, Pope Francis prays that all present may be renewed and encouraged in their urgent work, and that their labours may bear an abundant harvest of peace for the world. With the assurance of his prayers for their deliberations, His Holiness willingly invokes divine blessings upon all gathered for the Summit meeting.
Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State