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GERALD LEON CANNON RECEIVES THE BOOKS "BOSNIA" AND "RAFFAELE, IL SINDACO"
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28 November 2025
On the occasion of bassist Gerald Leon Cannon and his wife Minnie's visit to the Museum of Peace, President Michele Capasso presented them with copies of his books "Bosnia" and "Raffaele, il sindaco".
The great American musician was moved by the story of the mayor who rebuilt San Sebastiano al Vesuvio after the destruction caused by the eruption of Vesuvius on 19 March 1944.
POPE LEONE XIV IN ISTANBUL AND IZNIK
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28 November 2025
The first meeting with Pope Leone XIV takes place early in the morning in the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit. We take our places in the right aisle of the Catholic cathedral, seat of the Apostolic Vicariate of Istanbul.
The Holy Father is excited and moved by the warm welcome and embraces the nuns and bishops with great enthusiasm.
This trip is ‘unusual’ for us because, not following the Pope's official delegation, we have to anticipate the next stages. We therefore leave the cathedral and head for the home for the elderly run by the ‘Little Sisters of the Poor’, where the second stage of the day takes place.
'Dear sisters and brothers, good morning! I sincerely thank you for Sister's words of welcome and for the welcome shown by all of you. Hospitality is the gift of this home! A gift that comes from God and is made fruitful by the Little Sisters of the Poor, the staff and benefactors, and also by all the guests, in their daily life together. Thank you all!'
With these words, the Pope embraces the community of elderly people, the faithful and the Little Sisters of the Poor present in the chapel of the shelter.
Before concluding, we drive to Iznik-Nicaea: the most important stop of the day.
İznik. 12 noon. We arrive in this small town after a two-hour journey and numerous checkpoints set up to ensure the safety of the papal visit, which coincides with the 1700th anniversary of the first council, with an ecumenical prayer meeting scheduled to take place near the archaeological excavations of the ancient basilica of St Neophytos.
About 300 bishops participated in the First Council of Nicaea to resolve the problems raised by Arianism. They arrived at a declaration of faith, which was given the name Nicene Creed, recognising the consubstantiality between the Father and the Son and condemning Arius.
We are standing on the platform near the remains of the basilica where the Pope has arrived. After the ecumenical prayer and the speech by Patriarch Bartholomew, Leo XIV reads his speech:
“Dear brothers and sisters! In a time that is dramatic in many ways, in which people are subjected to countless threats to their very dignity, the 1700th anniversary of the First Council of Nicaea is a precious opportunity to ask ourselves who Jesus Christ is in the lives of women and men today, who he is for each of us... I am deeply grateful to His Holiness Bartholomew, who, with great wisdom and foresight, decided to commemorate the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea together in the very place where it was celebrated; and I warmly thank the Heads of Churches and Representatives of World Christian Communions who accepted the invitation to participate in this event. May God the Father, almighty and merciful, hear the fervent prayer we offer him today and grant that this important anniversary may bear abundant fruit of reconciliation, unity and peace.
POPE LEONE XIV'S JOURNEY TO TURKEY BEGINS
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27 November 2025
A delegation from the "United States of the World" and the "Fondazione Mediterraneo" accompanied Pope Leone XIV on his first Apostolic Journey to Turkey and Lebanon.
During the flight taking Pope Leo XIV to Ankara, the first stop on his first Apostolic Journey, there was great excitement among journalists who greeted the Pontiff and took selfies with him. The Pope visited the captain of the aircraft and received various gifts, including a baseball bat.
At 12.30 pm, Pope Leo XIV arrives in the Turkish capital. We await him in delegation at the Atatürk Mausoleum, where the Holy Father is welcomed by the Turkish authorities.
After a group photo with the delegation, Pope Leo XIV heads to the Misak-ı Millî Tower to sign the “Book of Honour”; he then pays a brief visit to the museum dedicated to Atatürk and the history of the Republic.
At 2:00 p.m., the Holy Father travels by car to the Presidential Palace where, upon arrival, he is escorted by the traditional Turkish cavalry to the main entrance gate: a gesture of great impact with dozens of horsemen symbolising Turkish hospitality and traditions; those at the front of the line carry the flags of Turkey and Vatican City.
The Pope is welcomed by President Erdoğan and together they proceed to the podium.
After the national anthems, 21 cannon shots, the honouring of the flags, the Guard of Honour, the presentation of the respective delegations and the official photo at the entrance to the Presidential Palace, the President and the Pope take the lift to the second floor of the Presidential Palace for a group photo with the Turkish delegation and the Vatican delegation. They then moved to the President's Office for a private meeting, the presentation of the family and a photo with the family.
Immediately afterwards, the text of President Erdoğan's address to the Pope was distributed, and we find many points that repeat what Erdoğan himself had said during his visit to Naples in 2005 at the headquarters of the “United States of the World” and in other subsequent meetings with us, as if time had not passed and the problems had remained crystallised in history.
At 3:45 p.m., the Pope arrives at the Nation's Library (National Library) where he meets with authorities, civil society, the diplomatic corps and representatives of international institutions, such as the “United States of the World”.
The meeting takes place in the central hall, dominated by a large blue globe: looking at it while the Pope delivers his speech, one gets the impression of a connection with our "House for Peace", even if only as an idea, since our project is much more complex and stands out for its adherence to the values of peace and protection of the planet, as described in the previous chapter 23. In the front row are Cardinal Pietro Parolin and Cardinal Claudio Gugerotti, current Prefect of the Dicastery for the Oriental Churches of the Holy See.
TOWARDS NAPLES: "UNITED STATES OF EUROPE, A REALISTIC UTOPIA AT THE FORDS
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27 November 2025
In view of the summit to be held in Naples next March on the "United States of Europe" at the headquarters of the "United States of the World", a meeting coordinated by Massimo Pendenza was held at the University of Salerno.
After greetings from Rector Virgilio D'Antonio and Director of the Department of Political and Social Studies Maurizio Merico, speeches were given by Guido Montani, Francesco Clementi, Francesco Callegari, Francesca Romano D’Antuono and Mauro Casarotto.
The conclusions were entrusted to Senator Giuseppe Lumia, member of the United States of the World.
CONDOLENCES ON THE DEATH OF ORNELLA VANONI
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22 November 2025
Secretary-General Michele Capasso, Director Pia Molinari, the members of the Executive Council and the International Committee, the Council of Ambassadors, the heads of the branch offices and all the members of the United States of the World and the autonomous sections Fondazione Mediterraneo, Accademia del Mediterraneo and Kimyya express their heartfelt condolences on the death of Ornella Vanoni, member of the United States of the World and Fondazione Mediterraneo.
In their message, Michele Capasso, Pia and Jacopo Molinari state, among other things:
"A great artist has left us, but above all a kind and ironic friend, frank and sharp-witted: a unique and extraordinary woman.
When we dedicated the documentary film ‘BASTA POCO’ to her in 2018, she thanked us all for having portrayed the truest parts of her personality.
And now we are here to remember so many moments: the caresses on her beard (she said it brought her luck), her stays at home enjoying cherries and apricots from Vesuvius (her passion), her joy when we produced the documentary film 'Basta poco', her support for the Fondazione Mediterraneo and the Stati Uniti del Mondo, her stays at the Casa-Museo in Turin, her visits to the Museo della Pace and the sections dedicated to Mario Molinari and Pino Daniele, the birthdays, the dinners and so much more. Thank you, Ornella, for intertwining our lives. We will never forget you”.
CONDOLENCES ON THE DEATH OF CLAUDIO AZZOLINI
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21 November 2025
Secretary-General Michele Capasso, Director Pia Molinari, the members of the Executive Council and the International Committee, the Council of Ambassadors, the heads of the branch offices and all the members of the United States of the World and the autonomous sections of Fondazione Mediterraneo, Accademia del Mediterraneo and Kimyya express their heartfelt condolences on the death of the Honourable Claudio Azzolini, founding member and architect of the development of the United States of the World and Fondazione Mediterraneo.
In his message, Michele Capasso states, among other things:
"A brother has passed away! A friend! A gentleman! A GIANT of politics and institutions. It is impossible at this time to summarise almost four decades of friendship, complicity and sharing.
Like in a film, the many moments that have characterised our lives flash before our eyes, in particular the sharing of values and ideals that are worth spending our lives on.
If the FONDAZIONE MEDITERRANEO and the STATI UNITI DEL MONDO have been able to realise their mission, much of the credit and recognition goes to CLAUDIO AZZOLINI.
With method, passion, competence, clarity and conviction, he supported this joint project for dialogue and peace, contributing significantly to its affirmation at European and international level – when he took office as a Member of the European Parliament and Vice-President of the Council of Europe – and at national level as a Member of Parliament and head of various institutional bodies.
We entrust our first memories of Claudio to a collection of photos captured on our websites: from his meeting with President Scalfaro to the visits to our headquarters by many Italian and international personalities, from President Casini to Gianni Letta, from the presidents of European parliaments to heads of state and government who wanted to pay tribute to a commitment that, thanks to a 'consortium of passion and love' - of which Claudio was the main protagonist - produced concrete results. A round of applause for his life”.
ONU: INAUGURATION OF A MEMORIAL DEDICATED TO THE SREBRENICA GENOCIDE
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17 November 2025
The inauguration ceremony for a memorial dedicated to the victims of the Srebrenica genocide of 11 July 1995 was held at the United Nations headquarters.
Denis Bećirović, Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, gave a speech in the presence of Foreign Minister Elmedin Konaković at the inauguration of the “Flower of Srebrenica” memorial, located in the garden of the United Nations headquarters.
Melissa Fleming, Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications, emphasised the importance and symbolic significance of the memorial in her speech.
‘Our children were killed just because they had a different name, were called differently and were Muslims,’ said Munira Subašić, president of the Association of Mothers of Srebrenica and Žepa, speaking to more than 100 people on a cold but sunny November afternoon in New York.
She has spent 30 years advocating for the more than 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys killed in the UN-protected enclave of Srebrenica.
"We are still here: this flower means that we are still here and that there will be more and more of us", Ms Subašić said.
The marble flower has 11 white petals surrounding a green centre. The petals represent 11 July, the UN-designated International Day of Reflection and Remembrance of the 1995 genocide in Srebrenica. The white symbolises the innocence of the victims; the green recalls the shroud placed on Muslims at the moment of death, but also new growth and hope.
Despite the horrors of 1995, Ms Subašić said that the survivors “raised our children without revenge, without hatred”, calling the children the new generation.
Representing the new generation was her 12-year-old grandson Karim, who skipped school in Bosnia and Herzegovina today to attend the ceremony. In 1995, he lost his grandfather and great-uncle, as well as 70 other members of his family.
Secretary-General Michele Capasso sent a message emphasising the importance of the memorial and, in particular, the “Majke” (“Mothers”) programme, which will give voice to the pain of all mothers around the world, starting with the Mothers of Srebrenica.
THE BOOK "RAFFAELE; THE MAYOR" TO THE STUDENTS OF THE SALVEMINI SCHOOL
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17 November 2025
President Michele Capasso, accompanied by Councillor Assia Filosa and Pia Molinari, presented several copies of the book "Raffaele, the Mayor" dedicated to Father Raffaele Capasso, mayor of the reconstruction of San Sebastiano al Vesuvio.
CHRISTMAS LIGHTS LIT UP IN FRONT OF THE MUSEUM OF PEACE
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16 November 2025
The Christmas lights have been lit up in front of the Museum of Peace. Stefano Albamonte's beautiful photos capture the magic of the square with the memorial dedicated to pope Francis in the background: Molinari's illuminated “Totem of Peace”.
PRESENTATION OF THE BOOK "WORDS OF HOPE’”
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13 November 2025
President Michele Capasso and Pia Molinari attended the presentation of the book "Words of Hope"by Don Sandro Ramirez (Edition Paoline).
The event took place at the "Paoline" bookshop in Via Duomo in Naples and was coordinated by Sister Dina.
On this occasion, the "Majke" programme of the United States of the World was presented.
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