Vatican envoy to visit Mumbai for interfaith gathering after 16 years

The Vatican sends Cardinal Koovakad to Mumbai for an interfaith gathering promoting peace, involving diverse religious leaders and creative expressions.

MUMBAI: For only the second time after sixteen years, the Vatican is sending a senior emissary to Mumbai to join a unique interfaith gathering on Saturday, underscoring the city’s role as a crossroads of cultures and religions.

Vatican envoy to visit Mumbai for interfaith gathering after 16 years

Titled Pilgrims of Hope – Religions Journeying for Peace, the closed-door event will bring together leaders from across India’s diverse faith traditions to mark two milestones—the Jubilee Year of Christ in 2025 and the Feast of St Francis of Assisi. Both occasions celebrate themes of renewal, fraternity, and peace—values that resonate far beyond the boundaries of Christianity.

The chief guest will be Cardinal George Jacob Koovakad, prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue. His visit recalls a similar moment in 2009, when Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran met Hindu spiritual leaders, including the Kanchi Shankaracharya Jayendra Saraswati, in Mumbai. The Vatican’s decision to once again send a representative highlights the importance it places on dialogue in a time when the world grapples with conflict, polarisation, and suspicion among communities.

“2025 is the Jubilee year for the birth of Jesus and it coincides with the Feast of St Francis of Assisi. We are holding several celebrations, and among them, this meeting with leaders of all faiths,” said Fr Aniceto Pereira, parish priest of Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Orlem, and member of the Archdiocese’s Interreligious Dialogue Commission. “Each tradition will share how they strive to build bridges in their own way.”

The event also looks back to a historic encounter central to the Catholic imagination: St Francis of Assisi’s journey to Egypt in 1219 to meet Sultan Malek al-Kamil. At a time of the Crusades, Francis sought dialogue rather than confrontation and was received warmly by the Sultan. “That gesture continues to inspire us today,” Fr Pereira noted.

Saturday’s programme will blend dialogue with creative expression. Street plays, skits, music, dance, and multimedia presentations will highlight community-led initiatives that advance harmony in everyday life. The goal, organisers stress, is not theological debate but a celebration of shared human values—compassion, dignity, and solidarity.

The impressive list of participants reflects India’s religious breadth. Alongside Cardinal Koovakad and Archbishop John Rodrigues will be Cardinal Oswald Gracias; Swami Dayadhipananda of the Ramakrishna Mission; Prabhu Govind Das Swamy and Prabhu Keshav Chandra Das Swamy of ISKCON; Sadguru Yogiraj Dr Mangesh Vadhavkar; Ezra Moses from the Parsi community; Sister Gayatri Ben of the Brahma Kumaris; Swami Devendra Brahmachari representing Jains; Ven Dr Bhadant Rahul Bodhi Mahathero of the Buddhists; Ervad Dr Parvez M Bajan of the Byculla Fire Temple; and prominent Muslim clerics Maulana Zaheer Abbas Rizvi and Maulana Ilyas Khan Falahi.

Speaking ahead of the gathering, Maulana Rizvi underscored the urgency of collective responsibility. “The journey of peace cannot be completed alone, unless we all walk together,” he told HT.