Ahead of Pope Leo XIV’s visit this week to the Italian hill town of Assisi to close the 81st General Assembly of the Italian Bishops’ Conference (CEI), the Bishops’ leader, Cardinal Matteo Maria Zuppi, addresses his fellow Bishops with a call to promote peace in the war-torn world and to counter exclusion of the marginalised.
By Stefano Leszczynski and Deborah Castellano Lubov
Ahead of Pope Leo XIV’s upcoming visit to Assisi to close the 81st General Assembly of the Italian Bishops’ Conference (CEI), Cardinal Matteo Maria Zuppi urged Italy’s Bishops to intensify their commitment to peace and to defend those most at risk of exclusion.
Opening the Assembly on 17 November at the Domus Pacis in Santa Maria degli Angeli, Cardinal Zuppi, the President of the CEI, highlighted the suffering caused by ongoing global conflicts and the marginalization of the poor, migrants, and the imprisoned.
In particular, the Archbishop of Bologna expressed hope for concrete initiatives “to restore equality among all women and men today, to relaunch a season of rights and true justice for every people and nation.”
Pope Leo XIV to close the Assembly
The four-day gathering, 17-20 Nov. 2025, brings together Bishops from across Italy to reflect on pastoral priorities, safeguarding, and Catholic education.
Their discussions are drawing on insights from the recently completed Synodal Path in Italy, with resulting pastoral guidelines to be finalized at the May 2026 General Assembly.
Pope Leo XIV is scheduled to meet the Bishops at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, 20 Nov., in the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli for the closing session.
Call to promote peace and development where war rages
In his remarks, Cardinal Zuppi also encouraged broadened developmental cooperation, citing initiatives in the Holy Land and Gaza.
Calling for renewed efforts to strengthen collaboration between Europe and the Mediterranean, the President of the CEI stressed Europe’s responsibility in shaping a sustainable architecture of peace, urging Christians on the continent to seriously assume their role.
Reflecting on the war-torn world, he said, attention must remain fixed on “the martyred Ukraine.”
“Christian Europe,” he observed, “has much to say and much to reflect upon,” while underscoring the importance of preparing properly for an upcoming meeting on Europe.
