A large delegation of Buddhist monks from Thailand, led by the Venerable Somdet Phra Mahatirachan, head of the Supreme Council of Thai Buddhism, and accompanied by some Catholic priests and the secretary of the Thai Bishops' Conference, Msgr. Vira Arpondrattana, visited the Community of Sant'Egidio on 28 May. They were welcomed by Mgr Marco Gnavi, together with a delegation of the Community and representatives of the Pontifical Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue.
The meeting, focusing on the common commitment to peace, recalled the importance of preserving and cultivating a spirit of dialogue and collaboration between believers of different faiths, as had already emerged in the meeting the delegation had had with Pope Francis. In the name of this collaboration, the Buddhist delegation also asked to meet a group of refugees who have arrived in Italy with the humanitarian corridors and offered them a sign of solidarity.
After the exchange of messages and meditation by the Buddhist monks, in the Conference Hall of the Community of Sant'Egidio, the Thai delegation attended the Community's evening prayer in the basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere.
