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The 40th Annual International Meeting for Peace will draw religious and political leaders from across the globe to Italy in late October. For the second straight year, a delegation of Emmanuel College faculty and students will be part of that discussion.
The Emmanuel contingent will be led by Professor of Theology and Religious Studies Dr. Laurie Johnston. It’s her seventh trip to the annual dialogue, and her second with Emmanuel students. She described it as a unique opportunity for students to interact with a larger world and join with other voices calling for peace.
“One of the things they think is, oh my gosh, how did I get in this room with the Queen of Belgium and the Pope and all these important people?” said Dr. Johnston. “It’s definitely a remarkable experience.”
The student delegation for 2026 is Olivia Demacedo ’28, a double major in marketing and communication; Mariam Diallo ’28, a double major in finance and economics; and Olga Issa ’28, a double major in political science and international studies.
Pope Leo XIV is among the prominent leaders scheduled to attend. The annual event is organized by the Community of Sant’Egidio, a Catholic lay community founded in Rome in 1968 and dedicated to prayer, service to the poor, and the pursuit of peace.
The original International Meeting for Peace gathered world religious leaders in Assisi in 1986 to pray for peace at the invitation of Pope John Paul II. The Community of Sant’Egidio has organized the annual dialogue ever since.
The format is similar to an academic conference, with opening and closing ceremonies and three rounds of expert panels in between. During the panels, religious leaders, diplomats, and aid organization representatives discuss topics such as refugees, children’s rights, and threats to peace. Seating is limited, but Dr. Johnston makes sure students see the proceedings firsthand.
“I make sure that the students get seats in the room where it’s actually happening, and that can be really something because you watch these political leaders come in with all their bodyguards,” said Dr. Johnston. “Everybody in the room has to have translation headphones because the panelists might speak in four or five different languages in the course of one session… It’s really an amazing exposure to a bigger world.”
Demacedo heard about the trip through her ongoing involvement with Mission & Ministry, which provided materials for her to research the trip. Those materials included an impactful article written by a student delegate from a previous year.
“Something they said really stuck out to me: they talked about this feeling that they needed to carry a torch of peace with them after the trip, to continue the lessons they learned in their life,” said Demacedo. “That really made me want to apply… I think it’s going to be a trip with a lot of lessons, and something I can carry on past my time on the trip.”
Diallo is looking forward to the journey as an opportunity to meet people and network. As the newly elected President of Emmanuel’s Muslim Student Association, she’s also hoping to learn from her peers.
“This is my first time leading a club on campus, and as a Muslim, my faith is very close to my heart,” said Diallo. “I want to put my best foot forward as a leader and as a Muslim, so anything I can take away from this conference to bring back to the club or the Emmanuel community would be great. That’s definitely one of my goals.”
Emmanuel students will be there alongside delegations from Princeton, Boston College, and the University of Durham in the UK. Dr. Johnston said those interactions are often a highlight for the students and very much in the spirit of Sant’Egidio. She said Sant’Egidio’s commitment to peace and to bringing diverse perspectives together is similar to that of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, who founded Emmanuel in 1919.
“As a Catholic institution, we are part of a broader transnational network that is the Catholic Church, and this is one example of how you can connect in that network in amazing ways,” said Dr. Johnston.
“In a world where there’s so much violence, part of what both the Sisters of Notre Dame and Sant’Egidio are about is showing that there’s actually a lot that ordinary people can do to promote peace,” she added.
As a political science student with a deep interest in religion and understanding other cultures, Issa is looking forward to that experience. She has worked with the Mission & Ministry Office and has also participated in Emmanuel’s Model UN program, and she saw this dialogue as a great opportunity to build on those experiences.
“What I want to bring back to Emmanuel is understanding,” said Issa. “Understanding of different cultures and religions, and the knowledge that we can actually do this together.”
