On 11 April 2015, His Holiness Pope Francis delivered the Bull Of Indiction of the Extraordinary Jubilee Of Mercy. The Jubilee, held from 8 December 2015 to 20 November 2016, provided the impetus for the realisation of the International Symposium on Interreligious Sharing and the Witnessing of Mercy for Peace and Reconciliation. This event took place towards the close of the jubilee year – from 3 to 4 November 2016 – at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome and was co-organized by the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue at the Holy See and the International Dialogue Centre (KAICIID).

Pope Francis said: “Mercy is the force that reawakens us to new life and instils in us the courage to look to the future with hope.” The International Dialogue Centre believes that dialogue is an expression of mercy and that mercy is needed whenever dialogue is needed. The objectives of the symposium were therefore to share the imperatives and experiences of mercy between religions such that the commonalities between them become a force of unity and reconciliation. This book is a record of those two fruitful days of valuable exchange and appeals for collective peace.