Who we are
17
The countries in which we operate
47
The projects implemented
+20.000
People helped in one year
Mission & Vision
Like St. John Paul II we believe that there can be no "peace without justice" and that misery and despair are the main ingredients of fundamentalism and violence. That is why we want to be peacemakers, ensuring the social inclusion of every person, fostering the economic and cultural development of peoples and territories, mainly in the Holy Land and the Middle East, as well as in our own country.
We carry out social interventions, in the areas of education, vocational training and health services, through projects that are not occasional or welfare-based in nature but aim to produce effective and lasting impacts, investing in the skills and capacities of local populations to help improve their living conditions.
We do this through strong roots in the territories in which we operate, thanks to the valuable collaboration of numerous local and international partners.
Our Story
Sunday, August 24, 1997, Bishop Luciano Giovannetti leads 600 faithful on the Diocese of Fiesole's first pilgrimage to the Holy Land. At the gates of Bethlehem they are blocked: the Israeli army denies entry into the city.
Negotiations with the military are fruitless, so the pilgrims get off the buses and begin to celebrate the Christmas liturgy there, facing Bethlehem. More people join in, becoming more than a thousand.
The atmosphere is collected, singing and praying. Pilgrims exchange the gesture of peace with soldiers. Televisions and journalists arrive. Suddenly a Christmas "miracle" in the middle of summer: the order comes to open the gate. Joy explodes, in everyone. Pilgrims enter Bethlehem, welcomed as liberators, From this wonderful seed, after years of maturation, the fruit of the John Paul II Foundation is born.
