Shortly before the opening of the Jubilee Year, from 24 to 29th October 1999, an Interreligious Assembly will be held in the Vatican City.

About 200 people of different religious traditions - Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, etc. - will gather together for common reflection on the challenges presented by the new millennium.

the title chosen for the meeting is:

ON THE EVE OF THE THIRD MILLENNIUM,COLLABORATION BETWEEN DIFFERENT RELIGIONS

In fact the year 2000, which for Christians is an occasion for celebrating the second millennium of the Christian era, is also arousing great interest among followers of other religions. This occasion, so close to the beginning of the new millennium, is a suitable moment to reflect together on the human family's common pilgrimage and to seek ways for future of peace and solidarity among the whole of humankind.

In Tertio Millennio Adveniente the Holy Father points to 1999 as a year in which special emphasis is to be placed on the encounter with other religions:

"As far as the field of religious awareness is concerned, the eve of the Year 2000 will provide a great opportunity, especially in view of the events, of recent decades, for interreligious dialogue, in accordance with the specific guidelines set down by the Second Vatican Council in its Declaration Nostra Aetate on the relationship of the Church to non-Christian religions" (TMA 53).

Accordingly, in connection with the initiatives for celebrating the Jubilee, the Council of Presidency of the Central Committee for the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000 has asked the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue to organise an Assembly in Rome in which Christians of different denominations and representatives of the various religions will participate.

Interreligious meetings promoted by the Catholic Church can be seen as the fruit of the Second Vatican Council, and in particular of the Declaration Nostra Aetate.

Over the last thirty years many initiatives have been taken, by the Holy See, by the Local Churches, by movements and communities. These have served to strengthen dialogue between Christians and people of other religions.

A significant occasion was the Day of Prayer for Peace, held in Assisi on 27th October 1986, at the initiative of His Holiness Pope John Paul II. It as acquired an almost symbolic value. It showed to the world a new image of the human family, with its fundamental unity and marked by a common thirst for higher ideals. As Pope John Paul II said, on that day Christian believers and the followers of different religious traditions pledged their "common respect and obedience to conscience, which teaches us all to seek the truth, to love and serve all individuals and all peoples".

The October 1999 Assembly, in the Vatican City, will add to the Assisi meeting a new prophetic thrust, looking forward as it does to the Year 2000.

The programme will be in two parts:

- a meeting for dialogue and reflection (for invited participants only;

- the final day (open for all).

In the first part, to be held in the Synod Hall, Vatican City, a keynote address will be given to which representatives of the different religions will be invited to react. This will be followed by group meetings and plenary assemblies working towards the drafting of a concluding statement.

A full day (27 October) is being set aside for a pilgrimage to Assisi.

This part of the programme is limited to the specially invited participants, about 200 in number.

On the evening of Tuesday 26 October there will be a concert in the Nervi Hall (the main Audience Hall) with a capacity of 7000. Entry is free (tickets to be procured in advance).

On the final day, 28 October, participants will be invited to fast and to pray according to their own religious tradition in various places near St Peter's. They will then converge on St Peter's Square for the concluding ceremony in the presence of the Holy Father: reading of the final message, testimonies, Holy Father's address, symbolic act of commitment to solidarity and peace.

To increase the awareness of this interreligious dimension of the Jubilee of the Year 2000 the Council of presidency of the Commission of the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000 decided that a special interreligious encounter should be conducted. It will take place in Rome 24-29 October, shortly before the opening of the jubilee year. The organization of the encounter has been confided to the Pontifical Council for interreligious Dialogue.

In this encounter 200-250 persons of diverse religious traditions will be united. They will engage in common reflection on the challenge of the new millennium. As a starting point for reflection a report will be presented on the vision of the future from the catholic point of view, then the wisdom of the various religious traditions will be shared. The purpose will be to produce a common message that may express the convictions and hopes of the participants.

A day of the encounter is reserved for a pilgrimage to Assisi, the city of St. Francis, which has become a symbol of interreligious comprehension and cooperation, especially from the memorable day of 1986 when Pope John Paul II invited religious leaders to unite to pray for the peace of the world. He himself said at the conclusion: "The very fact that we have come to Assisi from various parts of the world is in itself a sign of this common way that humanity is called to travel. Either we learn to walk together in peace and harmony, or we alienate ourselves from this undertaking and we ruin ourselves and others. We hope that this pilgrimage to Assisi has taught us again to be conscious of the common origin and destiny of humanity. Let us try to see in it an anticipation of that which God wants the historical development of humanity to be: a fraternal voyage in which we accompany each other toward the transcendent goal that he establishes for us." (Assisi, 27 October 1986. Concluding discourse).

On the last day the participants will be invited to fast and pray for peace and harmony in the world. The assembly will close with the concluding celebration in St. Peter's Square open to all. Those who cannot be present are invited to unite themselves in spirit and also to participate by prayer and fasting.