To aid his recovery following the thoracic surgery he underwent on Tuesday last week, and in accordance with his doctors’ advice, Pope Leo XIV will be unable to attend the event in Assisi on 27 October, as planned, for the meeting entitled “Unarmed and Disarming Peace”, marking the fortieth anniversary of the World Day of Prayer for Peace, instituted by Saint John Paul II.

Pope Leo will send a message of solidarity to the organizers, leaders and representatives of Christian denominations and of religions, as well as to the guests who will be present, in the belief that the “spirit of Assisi”, dialogue and the search for words and gestures of peace are valuable resources in an age of conflict.