Last week at the Pontifical Urban University, a three-day conference was held to give more space to the contribution of women in interreligious dialogue.

The event was organized by the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue and the World Union of Catholic Women’s Organizations. 

Over the course of the days, there were several sessions that covered discussions on female figures in Scripture and religious teachings for a culture of encounter, as well as sharing experiences and contributions from saints and sages. 

During the second day of the conference, the participants were received an audience with Pope Francis, who congratulated them on the initiative. The Holy Father stressed the importance of the interreligious dialogue meeting, explaining how it has become an increasingly rare practice, but at the same time, it is one of the greatest gifts that can be offered to families, communities and society. 

The final session of the conference focused on the future of interreligious dialogue, trying to map out the next steps. 

Starting with the encyclical “Fratelli Tutti” the conference emphasized that talking about a ‘culture of encounter’ means looking for points of contact, building bridges and designing something that involves everyone, with women at the forefront. The long-term goal is of creating a large global interfaith network.