Arm in arm, young people of different faiths perform the dabke, an Arabic folk dance, in the Italian port of Ostia, elated by a visit from Pope Leo.
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Behind them is the Bel Espoir, a schooner vessel on which the young people – whether from Libya and Egypt or France and Bosnia – have been sailing the Mediterranean to promote peace.
“For me especially, it means a lot that the pope believes in the project and he wants to come and meet us,” said Jesus Marro, a 30-year-old Spaniard.
“He believes in peace and building bridges together.”
Since March, the ship, built in 1944 and recently restored, has welcomed some 200 young people aged 19 to 35 from different cultures and religions, making voyages across various points of the Mediterranean.
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The current trip began in Naples and was headed to Marseille, the eighth and final stop.