Rimini Meeting: Pope Leo follows in the footsteps of John Paul II
By Fr. Ćukasz Bankowski
The history of the Meeting for Friendship Amongst Peoples, also known as the Rimini Meeting, dates back to the late 1970s. Among a group of friends in Rimini who shared a Christian experience, a desire arose to discover and bring to others what was beautiful and good in contemporary culture. Thus, in 1980, the Meeting was born.
From the beginning, it was intended to be a place where people from different cultures and religions could meet, a space for building peace, coexistence, and friendship among peoples. At its foundation is the conviction that people are united by a desire for truth, goodness, beauty, and justice. Fr. Luigi Giussani, founder of the Communion and Liberation movement, referred to this common ground as the “elementary experience.”
People of different cultures and religions coming together
For more than four decades, representatives of the worlds of politics, economics, science, religion, culture, and sport have traveled to Rimini. Meetings, debates, exhibitions, and performances address both major social and political challenges and topics related to science, art, literature, and economics.
One of the Meeting’s defining characteristics remains its openness to dialogue. Christians from different denominations—Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, and people who do not believe—all take part. Differences between people are not meant to be an obstacle, but an opportunity to meet, get to know one another, and search for the truth together.
The heart of the meeting
A distinctive feature of the event is the thousands of volunteers who travel to Rimini every year from Italy and other countries. They cover their own travel and accommodation costs. Once there, they prepare the venues, help run events, assist participants, and, after the Meeting ends, take care of dismantling the facilities.
Their work is intended as a concrete witness to selflessness—one of the values on which the event has been based from the beginning.
In the footsteps of Pope John Paul II
Pope St. John Paul II has a special place in the history of the Meeting.
The Polish pontiff personally attended the event on August 29, 1982, when it was being held for only the third time. Addressing the participants, he emphasized the significance of the very idea behind the gathering: “Meeting! A meeting of friendship! Friendship among peoples!” As he said, these words take on particular significance “in these often dramatic hours of world history.”
Pope John Paul II also recalled that the Meeting was born from the friendship of a group of Christians in Rimini and from the “passion for communication, creativity, and dialogue” that flows from lived faith. At the conclusion, he left the participants with a powerful appeal: “The civilization of love! (…) Brothers and sisters, build this civilization tirelessly!”
Pope Leo XIV will be the second pope to personally take part in the event. His presence on August 22 will therefore mark another important moment in the more than 45-year history of the gatherings in Rimini.
The Pope will visit the Meeting grounds and take time to greet its participants. During the remainder of his time in the city, he will also meet with people who are sick, people with disabilities, and people living in poverty who are receiving assistance from Caritas. The visit will conclude with the celebration of the Eucharist, which Pope Leo will preside over at Piazzale del Porto.
