Pope, Sant’Egidio founder discuss world conflicts, poverty

February 06, 2026

Pope Leo XIV received Andrea Riccardi, the founder of Community of Sant’Egidio, on February 5.

The conversation “focused on the many conflicts around the world and the innumerable victims they cause, along with widespread poverty and immense suffering for entire populations,” the Community said in a statement. “The importance of the role of Christians and the Church in contributing to the affirmation of peace was emphasized, also by encouraging the valuable resource of ecumenical and interreligious dialogue in the ‘spirit of Assisi.’“

Riccardi, 76, founded the Community in 1968; the Pontifical Council for the Laity recognized it as an international association of the faithful in 1986. The Community is known for its work in peace negotiations, such as the Rome General Peace Accords that ended the Mozambican Civil War, as well as for its annual International Prayer Meetings for Peace, held annually since Pope St. John Paul II’s world day of prayer for peace in Assisi in 1986.

 

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Further information:

• Andrea Riccardi received in audience by Pope Leo, on the eve of the 58th anniversary of the Community of Sant'Egidio (Comunità di Sant’Egidio, 2/5/26)