Pope Francis will address a major interreligious conference on the place of man and woman in marriage next week.

Beginning on Monday in the Vatican, the conference, Complementarity of Man and Woman in Marriage, will see the Pontiff address delegates from 23 countries and 14 faith traditions who will assemble to discuss the meaning of marriage in the modern world and its continuing relevance for men and women in societies across the globe. The Pontiff will address the opening session of the meeting on Monday and serve as President for that session.

Among those invited to address the gathering in subsequent sessions are Britain’s Chief Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, Prof. Abdelwahab Maalmi of Hassan II University, Morocco, and His Eminence Chrysostomos, Greek Orthodox Metropolitan of Messinia.

In addition to religious leaders and representatives, the conference will have the opportunity to hear from married and single lay people courtesy of six short films to air over the three days. Topics to be touched upon in the filmed interviews will include the beauty of the union between the man and the woman, the loss of confidence in marital permanence, and the cultural and economic woes that follow upon the disappearance of marriage.

Hosted by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), the gathering, according to the organisers, seeks to examine marriage and propose “anew the beauty of the natural union between man and woman in marriage”. The event will conclude with the presentation of a Declaration of Marriage by the delegates.

In addition to the CDF, the conference is co-sponsored by the Pontifical Council for the Family, the Pontifical Council for Interrelgious Dialogue, and the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity.

More details are at www.humanum.it