Hand in hand, young people of different religions perform dabke, an Arabic folk dance, in the Italian port of Ostia, rejoicing in the visit of Pope Leo XIV.
Behind them stands the Belle Espoir, a sailing ship on which young people – whether from Libya and Egypt or France and Bosnia – sail the Mediterranean to promote peace.
Spaniard Jesus Maro (30 years old) told AFP, “For me in particular, it means a lot that the Pope believes in the project and that he wants to come to meet us.”
“He believes in peace and building bridges together.”
Since March, the ship, built in 1944 and recently restored, has received about 200 young people between the ages of 19 and 35 from different cultures and religions, making voyages through different points of the Mediterranean.
The current flight started from Naples and headed to Marseille, the eighth and final stop.
The young people on board, who are from across the Mediterranean and involved in community projects in their home countries, say they see the trip as an opportunity to promote dialogue in the face of what they describe as a worrying escalation of conflict.
On Friday afternoon, during a visit to the three-masted ship docked in the port of Ostia outside Rome, the American pope sought to encourage them to listen in “a world increasingly exposed to violence, hatred and separation.”
The head of the Catholic Church boarded the ship, was welcomed with singing, inspected the cabins and shared pastries in the boat’s small dining room.
“Today’s world needs signs and testimonies that inspire hope more than words,” he said in an impromptu speech in English on the main deck.
– ‘Life is short’ –
While sailing, participants, who include Muslims, Orthodox Christians, Catholics and those of no faith, help with household chores such as cooking, cleaning and night shifts, providing a sense of closeness.
Christina Helena, a 27-year-old Palestinian from a village near Ramallah in the West Bank, described the experience as “very moving.”
“These two years were very painful, and leaving my country in this situation was not easy at all,” said the young woman, wearing a black-and-white keffiyeh head covering and a gold cross around her neck.
Fatima Al-Wardi, a 30-year-old Iraqi Muslim who runs a humanitarian project in Baghdad, had never seen the sea before the trip.
She said: “I was not prepared. I am afraid of water, and I cannot swim, but life is short and when you have an opportunity, you have to seize it.”
She said: “Iraq witnessed the American army, then a civil war between Sunnis and Shiites, and now there is ISIS. We have gone through many continuous conflicts, but we still need peace because we believe in humanity.”
– “Peace School” –
One of the organizers of the project, Catholic priest Alexis Lebro from Marseille, said that young people exchange views every day on diverse topics such as the environment, the economy, the role of women, education and cultural dialogue.
He added that it is about “building a culture of encounter instead of a culture of conflict and competition, and this is what can be learned.”
Back on Earth, participants continue the experience during seminars and workshops in the cities they visit as part of the Catholic Church’s 2025 edition of “Mediterranean Encounters.”
Al-Wardi, from Baghdad, shared a verse from the Qur’an that she said left an impression.
“Go out and explore people. “I created you all so that you could get to know each other…just get out of your comfort zone.”
cmk/ams/cc