Ten years after the Peace Arena event, in mid-May Verona will host a meeting on peace and the spiritual heritage of this city, which is at the “crossroads of cultures and peoples”. “The presence of Pope Francis will help strengthen our call for peace and justice,” says Damian Tommasi, the mayor of Verona. It has already been announced that the Holy Father will arrive in Verona on May 18, the eve of Pentecost.
Silvija Krivteža – Vatican
The initiators of the Peace Arena are Catholic missionaries, who have been joined over time by representatives of city and regional authorities, labor unions, popular movements, as well as students, leaders of ecclesial communities and local organizations, all those people who care about peace. The organizers of the event remind that there are dozens of different conflicts taking place in the world today, most of which have been forgotten. They also point to the threat of nuclear weapons weighing heavily on the world, created by those who do not want to hear about dialogue and peace.
Referring to the teachings of Pope Francis, the bishop of the Diocese of Verona emphasizes that the crisis is caused by a lack of mutual trust. “That’s why we want to become messengers of good change and promoters of a culture of peace,” says Bishop Domenic Pompili. He reminds that the preparations for the Peace Arena have been going on for several months. To this end, five working groups have been established, which will focus on the most important topics: peace and disarmament; integral ecology and lifestyle; migration; a job; democracy and human rights. Bishop Pompili explains that it is no coincidence that the words of the prophet Isaiah were chosen as the theme of the Verona Peace Meeting: “Justice will kiss peace”.
The bishop of the Diocese of Verona points out the importance of the presence of Pope Francis in the famous arena, which is celebrating its great anniversary this year. “100 years ago, Giuseppe Verdi’s opera Aida was staged in the ancient amphitheater of Verona. The arena soon became one of the symbols of the city of Romeo and Juliet. The Pope constantly encourages us to a culture of solidarity. His visit will be a call to build a new humanism and a protest against a culture of indifference, ” says the Bishop of Verona.
The Peace Arena highlights the great prophets of peace from both religious and secular backgrounds. This year it will be possible to get acquainted with the message of priests Romano Guardini, Ernesto Balducci, Tonino Bello, Davide Maria Turoldo, Primo Maccolari and Arturo Paoli. One of the witnesses of peace and social justice is the Italian politician Giorgio La Pira, whose beatification process is currently underway in the Vatican.
“We don’t want this to be a one-time event, but we want it to start a peace process that will awaken our consciences,” says the Bishop of Verona. For his part, Mayor Tommasi emphasizes that the city has always been determined to promote dialogue and peace. Only social justice can bring peace to our communities, and it must come from the bottom up. Stable peace can only be achieved if it is based on a strong foundation of justice,” emphasizes Damian Tommasi. He points out that the Pope’s participation in the Peace Arena will certainly attract the attention of the local media. However, all the events that the Holy Father will attend during these seven-hour visits are important to us. time, he says.
On May 18, Pope Francis is scheduled to meet with representatives of clergy and religious circles, as well as children and young people, and visit a local prison. At the end of the pastoral visit, a Holy Mass for all the faithful will be celebrated at the Verona stadium.
Verona is one of the cities included in the itinerary of Pope Francis’ 2024 pilgrimage to Italy. On April 28 of this year, the Pope visited Venice, where, among other things, he visited the International Art Biennale. In mid-June, the Holy Father will go to Borgo Egnatia, in Puglia, where he will participate in the G7 summit, which will be devoted not only to artificial intelligence, but also to the issue of world peace. On the other hand, on July 7, the Pope will go to Trieste. The bishop of this port city has announced that the main theme of the Holy Father’s visit will be migration to Europe.
