June 2026: Interreligious conference at the vatican, General Audience with Pope Leo XIV.

Rome, June 2026 - For more than two millennia, the Eternal City has drawn people from every corner of the world: emperors and pilgrims, scholars and mystics, statesmen and seekers, sinners and saints. Precisely this took place again on 23 and 24 June 2026. At the invitation of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue, representatives of the Dharmic religions and Christianity gathered for a conference entitled “Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, Jains and Sikhs in Europe: Fraternity through Dialogue and Cooperation.”

Fifteen distinct religious and spiritual traditions encountered one another not as competitors, but as fellow travellers in search of cohesion and a common voice in an increasingly fragmented world.

What was particularly striking was the diversity of perspectives. A scholar of the Jain tradition explained the teaching of Anekāntavāda: the insight that reality can never be fully apprehended from a single point of view. A Buddhist teacher spoke of Pratītyasamutpāda, the interdependent arising of all things and the profound interconnectedness of all living beings. From the Hindu perspective, the famous Vedic dictum was explained: “Ekam Sad Viprā Bahudhā Vadanti” — “Truth is one; the wise speak of it in many ways.”

However different the theological approaches may have been, they all pointed towards a common insight: what the world needs today is not uniformity, but a unity spacious enough to embrace diversity.

We need young people who learn to build bridges between religions.

One of the most compelling moments came from the youngest participants. The youth representatives pointed out that interreligious dialogue is still largely carried by men who, even with considerable imagination, could scarcely still be described as belonging to the category of “youth”. If a culture of encounter is to have a future, we urgently need young people who learn to build bridges between religions.

The message struck a chord. The Vatican responded by announcing a dedicated international gathering for youth representatives. Its aim is to nurture the next generation of interreligious leaders. Perhaps this was the most important investment in the future to emerge from the entire conference.

The culmination came with a personal audience with Pope Leo XIV. The group photograph of representatives of such diverse traditions (Lama Sherab Gyatso can been in the penultimate row, on the right side) together with the Holy Father became a powerful symbol of what the world longs for: the heart of the Great Perfection.

During these days, Rome offers a reminder of a timeless truth: unity arises from the ability to cherish differences while nevertheless standing together for what is good and true. Religious and spiritual traditions discover their deepest unity not in identical doctrines or shared conceptions of the divine, but in the mystery of love.

About the Author: Lama Sherab Gyatso is a student of AR and teaches Dzogchen at the Vidyadhara Centre and within AR’s Dzogchen Nyingthig Community. A scholar and practitioner of Dzogchen, Sanskrit, and the non-dual traditions, he has more than thirty years of experience in the study and practice of these traditions and more than twenty years of engagement in interreligious exchange, both at a scholarly level and through personal encounter.