Singer Pharrell Williams and Nobel Peace Prize-winning journalist Maria Ressa were among the participants in the World Meeting on Human Fraternity on Friday (September 12).

The event, now in its third edition, brings together religious and secular figures to discuss issues ranging from agriculture and sustainability to artificial intelligence and local governance.

Addressing the gathering on Friday, Pope Leo XIV called for unity in the face of global conflicts, urging participants to be “united by a strong and courageous ‘no’ to war and a ‘yes’ to peace and fraternity.”

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

VATICAN CITY (SEPTEMBER 12, 2025) (VATICAN MEDIA - Access all)

1. VARIOUS OF POPE LEO SHAKING HANDS WITH PARTICIPANTS AT THE WORLD MEETING ON HUMAN FRATERNITY INCLUDING NOBEL PEACE PRIZE WINNER DENIS MUKWEGE, NOBEL PEACE PRIZE LAUREATE MARIA RESSA AND SINGER PHARRELL WILLIAMS

2. AUDIENCE

3. (SOUNDBITE) (Italian) POPE LEO SAYING:

"The world is currently marked by conflicts and divisions, which makes it all the more important that you are united by a strong and courageous “no” to war and a “yes” to peace and fraternity."

4. AUDIENCE

5. (SOUNDBITE) (English) POPE LEO, SAYING:

"Brother, sister, where are you?” Where are you in the “business” of wars that shatter the lives of young people forced to take up arms; target defenseless civilians, children, women and elderly people; devastate cities, the countryside and entire ecosystems, leaving only rubble and pain in their wake?"

6. MEETING IN PROGRESS

7. (SOUNDBITE) (English) POPE LEO, SAYING:

"Brother, sister, where are you among the migrants who are despised, imprisoned and rejected, among those who seek salvation and hope but find only walls and indifference? Where are you, brother, sister, when the poor are blamed for their poverty, forgotten and discarded, in a world that values profit more than people?"

8. PHARRELL WILLIAMS AND OTHERS LISTENING

9. POPE LEO POSING WITH PARTICIPANTS