“Le Bel Espoir” Sets Sail for Peace:
Mediterranean Youth Expedition Launches in 2025
Marseille, France – May 2025
A historic journey for peace is about to begin on the waters of the Mediterranean. Building on the momentum of the Mediterranean Encounters and inspired by the powerful appeal of Pope Francis during his speech in Marseille in 2023, the three-masted schooner Le Bel Espoir will set sail on March 1st, 2025, embarking on an unprecedented eight-month odyssey to foster interreligious and intercultural dialogue among Mediterranean youth.
Under the banner “A School Ship Sailing for Peace”, the MED 25 – Le Bel Espoir expedition will host 200 young people, aged 20 to 35, from across the five Mediterranean shores—North Africa, the Middle East, the Aegean and Black Seas, the Balkans, and Europe. These youths will take part in thematic symposiums, festivals, and intensive peace-building training sessions aboard the ship and on land.
Each leg of the voyage features a specific theme, ranging from multicultural dialogue and women’s roles in the Mediterranean, to migration challenges, religious pluralism, and building peace. The initiative is coordinated by the Bel Espoir – AJD, Mar Yam, and the Marseille Diocesan Association, with support from a wide network of educational, religious, and civic partners.
The initiative not only aims to educate and unite but also seeks to create a Mediterranean think tank, gathering interdisciplinary contributions from educational, economic, religious, and societal actors. At the heart of this effort is a commitment to solidarity, dialogue, and fraternity, and a determination to counteract the deadly forces of violence, migration despair, and environmental degradation affecting the region.
Program Highlights: Limassol (Cyprus) – “Interreligious Dialogue” symposium, June 7–9
Official Program – Nicosia
Friday 06/06
| — | Arrival of the young people in Larnaca |
| — | Overnight in Nicosia |
| 19h00 | Meeting with host families |
07/06 Saturday
| 08h30 | Meeting for guidance at the House of the Sisters of St. Joseph |
| 09h00 | Leave for the Holy Archbishopric of the Church of Cyprus in Nicosia |
| 09h30 | Arrival and welcome by H.E Msgr Porfyrios Bishop of Neapolis Visit to the Byzantine Museum |
| 11h30 | “Dialogue for Religious Freedom, Peace & Reconciliation” |
| 13h30 | Lunch |
| 15h00 | Exhibition Sector2 (Buffer Zone-Nicosia) |
| 16h30 | Refreshment |
| 17h00 | Explanation of the Pournara Reception Camp |
| 19h30 | Dinner Maronite in the Church Lady of Graces |
| 21h | Group meetings for information and sharing |
08/06 Sunday
| 08h | Breakfast with families |
| 09h | 10h group meetings for information and sharing |
| 10h30 | Mass with the Bishop |
| 12h -14h30 | Lunch with Latin Catholic parish communities |
| 15h30 | Visit the Pournara Reception Centre |
| 17h00 | Refreshment |
| 18h | Departure for Larnaca by bus |
| 19h30 | Dinner |
| — | Overnight in the boat |
09/06 Monday
| 08h | Breakfast on the boat |
| 08h30 | Group meetings for information and sharing |
| 09h30 | Visit to Church of St Lazarus |
| 11h00 | Grand Mosque of Larnaca |
| 12h30 | Lunch on the boat |
| 14h | Farewell |