Pope to conclude Italian Bishops’ Assembly in Assisi on 20 November

By Vatican News

Pope Leo XIV will travel to Assisi on Thursday, 20 November, to conclude the 81st General Assembly of the Italian Bishops’ Conference (CEI). The meeting, which will be held at the Domus Pacis in Santa Maria degli Angeli from 17 to 20 November, will bring together bishops from across Italy to reflect on the pastoral directions of the Church in the coming years.

The Pope will meet the Italian bishops at 9:30 a.m. local time in the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli, marking the closing moment of the four-day assembly.

The gathering will open on Monday, 17 November, with an address by Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, Archbishop of Bologna and President of the CEI. Bishops will discuss the priorities emerging from the recently completed Synodal Path of the Churches in Italy, to outline pastoral perspectives for the years ahead. These will be further developed and approved during the next General Assembly in May 2026.

Among the items on the agenda is the approval of the document “Teaching Catholic Religion: A Laboratory of Culture and Dialogue”, along with the presentation of “Educating for Peace.”

During the Assembly, there will also be two moments of prayer: one for the victims and survivors of abuse, led by Archbishop Ivan Maffeis of Perugia-Città della Pieve, on Tuesday, 18 November, and another for peace, presided over by Cardinal Zuppi on Wednesday, 19 November, both at the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli.