At the University for Foreigners of Perugia the award ceremony for the honorary degree in International Relations and Development Cooperation took place for the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew I, in Italy during these days for the International meeting “Thirst for Peace” in Assisi".

Right after the Dean Prof. Giovanni Paciullo’s introduction, Cardinal Gualtiero Bassetti – archbishop of Perugia – greeted the audience. Andrea Riccardi, founder of the Community of Sant’Egidio has described the Patriarch “an artesian of Peace; a builder of mutual understanding with the old instruments of dialogue, of the meeting, of visit; a forefront actor that fosters trust in the relationship between people” (READ THE SPEECH HERE [ITA] )

The ceremony continued with the panegyric pronounced by Marco Impagliazzo, president of the Community of Sant’Egidio and academic of the same University. Impagliazzo highlighted how Bartholomew has known how to be a bridge between the East and the West and he added: “Your personality, the ecclesial network of his church, 25 years of travels and meetings have made you a builder of bridges, in the most profound sense of the word: pontifex”.

The Patriarch’s speech followed Impagliazzo’s words, with a Lectio Doctoralis on the theme “Dialogue of cultures and religions, the way of Peace” [ITA].