Pope Francis has set his mind on world peace. A three-day peace summit hosted by the Community of Sant’Egidio in Rome concluded on October 25 with the pope’s prayer for peace. According to Vatican News, presidents, religious leaders and various high-ranking authorities attended the annual summit. The history of the peace event goes back to 1986 when John Paul ii welcomed heads of state and religious leaders to Italy. As crises in the world intensify, world leaders are looking to the religious office of the pope for guidance and direction in matters of world peace. But in times of complex geopolitical crises, can these peace efforts be successful?

This year’s summit for peace was honored by the presence of leaders of Christian communities, such as French President Emmanuel Macron, who was one of the opening speakers, and Italian President Sergio Matterella. “While the summits generally were held in different European cities, since the pandemic, they have been held in Rome, and with the [pope’s] presence at each prayer gathering,” Vatican News reported.

Rome has a special meaning for the Catholic Church and its efforts for peace. For centuries, various popes crowned Holy Roman emperors in this city and met with leaders from the Continent to discuss efforts of conquest and peace.

At the end of this year’s event, “Cry for Peace,” Pope Francis noted: “Peace is God’s gift, and we have implored that gift from Him. Yet peace must be embraced and nurtured by us men and women, especially by those of us who are believers.”

Francis also held a private meeting with Macron the day before the summit to discuss “the desire to promote peace in a world overtaken by war, especially the war in Ukraine,” Vatican News reported. “I encouraged Pope Francis to call [Russian President] Vladimir Putin and Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, but also Joe Biden,” Macron told Le Point in an interview published on October 25. Other issues discussed were the ongoing refugee and migrant crisis, climate change and the Middle East.

But can the pope be a broker for peace? Is he able to revive productive dialogue with Putin? Is he able to help solve Europe’s problems?

Europe’s history is full of examples of European leaders cooperating with the Catholic Church. Numerous Bible prophecies show that this history will have a powerful revival in our days. As crises culminate, cries for the pope to be a mediator will only get louder. Few, however, understand what this has brought in Europe’s past and what it means for Europe’s future.

“Many people believe the Vatican is going to usher in world peace. However, the Vatican has an established record of causing, supporting and guiding many wars as a part of the Holy Roman Empire,” Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry wrote in 2005. You can learn about the Bible’s perspective on this history and more importantly understand the numerous prophecies that reveal Europe’s future in our free book The Holy Roman Empire in Prophecy.