VATICAN CITY (EWTN News/CNA)—Pope Benedict XVI met Oct. 28 with delegates who participated in yesterday’s Assisi gathering and said that the meeting showed how genuine the desire for peace and the good of others is.

“In a certain sense, this gathering is representative of the billions of men and women throughout our world who are actively engaged in promoting justice and peace,” said the Pope.

He told them the day had also been “a sign of the friendship and fraternity which has flourished” because of the work of those engaged in dialogue. He expressed hope that such friendships would “continue to grow.”

Pope Benedict praised the foresight of Pope John Paul II in calling the first Assisi meeting in 1986 and said that the gatherings are a “vivid expression of the fact that every day, throughout our world, people of different religious traditions live and work together in harmony.”

“It is surely significant,” he continued, that so many people are committed to working for the good of the human family.

“As we go our separate ways,” the Pope said as he bade them farewell, “let us draw strength from this experience, and, wherever we may be, let us continue refreshed on the journey that leads to truth, the pilgrimage that leads to peace. I thank all of you from my heart!”