Human fraternity is an urgent necessity, Pope writes in Zayed Award message

February 05, 2026

In a message for the International Day of Human Fraternity and the awarding of the Zayed Award for Human Fraternity, Pope Leo XIV paid tribute to “what is most precious and universal in our humanity: our fraternity, that unbreakable bond which unites every human being, created in the image of God.”

Both the day and the award recall the Document on Human Fraternity, signed on February 4, 2019, by Pope Francis and Sunni Muslim leader Ahmed Al-Tayeb, the Grand Imam of Al Azhar in Egypt, during Pope Francis’s apostolic journey to the United Arab Emirates. The award is named after Sheikh Zayed ibn Sultan Al Nahyan (c. 1918-2004), the president of the United Arab Emirates from 1971 until his death.

“Today, the need for this fraternity is not a distant ideal but an urgent necessity,” Pope Leo wrote in his message, dated January 22 and released on February 4. “We cannot ignore the fact that too many of our brothers and sisters are currently suffering the horrors of violence and war.”

“At a time when the dream of building peace together is often dismissed as an outdated utopia, we must proclaim with conviction that human fraternity is a lived reality, stronger than all conflicts, differences and tensions,” the Pope continued. “It is a potential that must be realized through a daily, concrete commitment to respect, sharing and compassion.”

Paying tribute to the award recipients, the Pope said:

Our laureates—His Excellency Ilham Aliyev, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, His Excellency Nikol Pashinyan, Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia, Ms. Zarqa Yaftali and Palestinian organization Taawon—are sowers of hope in a world that too often builds walls instead of bridges. By choosing the demanding path of solidarity over the easy path of indifference, they have demonstrated that even the most deep-seated divisions can be healed through concrete action. Their work bears witness to the conviction that the light of fraternity can prevail over the darkness of fratricide.

“Finally, I express my gratitude to His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates, for his steadfast support of this initiative, as well as the Zayed Committee for its vision and moral conviction,” the Pope added. “Let us continue to work together so that the dynamic of fraternal love may become the common path of all, and that the ‘other’ may no longer be seen as a stranger or a threat, but recognized as a brother or a sister.”

The six-member judging committee for the $1-million award includes a papal designee: Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça, the prefect of the Dicastery for Culture and Education.

 

---

For all current news, visit our News home page.

---

 
Further information:

• on the occasion of the International Day of Human Fraternity and the awarding of the Zayed Award for Human Fraternity 2026 (Dicastery for Communication - Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2/4/26)
• Zayed Award for Human Fraternity honours peace, education, humanitarian commitment (Vatican News, 2/4/26)