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<img height='275' src='http://vaticanstamps.org/VPS/images/296/916.jpg'> 			 			 			 			 			 			 			 			 			 			 			 			 
Prayer Meeting for Peace in Europe 
Scott 916 (1993)</center>
 
On October 27, 1986, Pope John Paul II convened the first World Day of Prayer for Peace in Assisi. For the first time in history, leaders and representatives of the world’s major religions gathered and prayed for universal peace. The choice of Assisi as the site for this historic event in 1986 was not random, with the city being tied to Saint Francis, a symbol of poverty, humility, and peacemaking.
 
The stamp and label shown at the top of the page was issued by Vatican City in 1993 to promote Pope John Paul’s return to Assisi to pray for peace on the European continent. That visit focused on the then-ongoing conflict in the Balkans. The stamp features an image of Saint Francis healing a man, and the attached label pictures the Basilica of Saint Francis in Assisi, inscribed with words from Pope John Paul’s 1993 World Day of Peace message: “Se cerchi la pace, va’ incontro ai poveri” (“If you seek peace, reach out to the poor’).
 
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<img height='300' src='https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8d/Peace_Conference_10-11_489_cropped.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=index&utm_content=original'> 
Memorial engraving of the first 'World Day of Prayer for Peace' in Assisi (1986) 
With Pope John Paul II hosting religious leaders from around the world 
Photo by Chris Light 
From Wikimedia Commons, used under the terms of the Creative 
Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license</center>
 
Over the last couple of days, the 2026 World Day of Prayer for Peace has celebrated its 40th anniversary as the event once again convened in Assisi. The title for this year’s meeting is “Disarmed and Disarming Peace”, drawing from Pope Leo XIV’s call for world peace today. This year’s gathering brings together over 350 religious, cultural, and institutional representatives from 53 countries, featuring speakers on topics such as migration, the economy, media, disarmament, and youth. Pope Leo was planning to attend the meeting, but following his recently lung cancer surgery, he was advised to not travel by helicopter to Assisi. However, his planned message to the event was expected to be delivered today.
 
Following 1986, the Catholic lay organization, the Community of Sant’Egidio, took the lead in organizing annual meetings across Europe, maintaining the “Spirit of Assisi” to promote interreligious fraternity and conflict prevention. Assisi has remained the spiritual home of the World Day of Prayer for Peace and has been the site for decadal anniversaries (such as the 30th anniversary, attended by Pope Francis in 2016). However, the meeting has traveled to various major cities either heavily impacted by, or symbolic of, divisions and peace efforts. Recent gatherings have taken place in major international hubs, including Berlin and Rome.
 
REFERENCES: 
<li>UFN, January 9, 1993, <a href='https://vaticanstamps.org/UFN/images/1993-2-14-1.jpg'>Prayer Meeting in Assisi for Peace in the European Continent</a> 
<li>VaticanNews.va, October 6, 2026, <a href='https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2026-10/pope-leo-assisi-40-years-john-paul-2-religions-peace-prayer.html'>Pope Leo to visit Assisi 40 years after historic prayer meeting</a> 
<li>Aleteia.org, October 25, 2026, <a href='https://aleteia.org/2026/10/25/unable-to-go-to-assisi-pope-asks-prayers-for-meeting/'>Unable to go to Assisi, Pope asks prayers for meeting</a> 
<li>Vatican Philatelic Society website, www.vaticanstamps.org, Stamp Database Search

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