Pope John Paul will lead prayers for peace today with more than 200 representatives from the world's main religions.
He wants to convey the message that conflict, murder and violence should never be carried out in the name of God. It is the third such day of peace organised by the Pope during his 23-year pontificate
Leaders of a dozen religions, including Christians, Muslims and Jews will stand side-by-side in the ancient Italian town of Assisi and will pledge that each faith should bring peace, forgiveness, life and love to earth.
The Pope hopes the meeting in the birthplace of St Francis, the saint most associated with peace, will help promote relations with Muslims in the wake of the suicide plane attacks on the United States and the subsequent war in Afghanistan.
Islam will be represented by 31 Muslims from 19 countries, including the Grand Mufti of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Among the Jews attending will be Rabbi David Rosen of Jerusalem, president of the International Council of Christians and Jews.
Many of the religious leaders will travel to Assisi with the Pope during the morning aboard a special papal train from the Vatican and will return the same way in the evening.
Church officials say they are delighted by the guest list, especially the presence of top members of the Russian Orthodox Church, which has had strained relations with the Vatican.
But some senior religious figures will be notable by their absence, including the Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury and the Dalai Lama, who both said they had prior engagements.
Pope John Paul organised his first Assisi peace meeting in 1986 during the Cold War and the war in Lebanon. The second meeting was in 1993 during the Balkan conflict.