Religious Freedom Gatherings

Gatherings of diverse religious leaders and officials participating in discussions and ceremonies around religious freedom and cooperation.

Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo meets with Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia Ilia II, in Tbilisi, Georgia, on November 18, 2020.

Cardinal Dominik Duka gives Secretary Michael R. Pompeo a private tour of St. Wenceslas Chapel inside St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague, Czech Republic, on August 12, 2020.

Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo meets with Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia Ilia II, in Tbilisi, Georgia, on November 18, 2020.

Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo tours the Church of Eleftherios in Athens, Greece, on October 6, 2019.

U.S. Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo tours St. Michael's Cathedral in Kyiv, Ukraine, on January 31, 2020.

U.S. Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo and U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See Callista Gingrich meet with Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin and Secretary for Relations with States Archbishop Paul Gallagher in Vatican City, on October 2, 2019.

Madrid 08-18-2011 Arrival of Hs Pope Benedict.

U.S. Special Representative for Religion and Global Affairs Shaun Casey looks on as Pope Francis prepares to present him with a Papal medallion on December 2, 2016, following a one-on-one meeting with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in the Papal Apartments at the Vatican in Vatican City.

Participants at the Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom held at the U.S. Department of State in Washington D.C. on July 16-18, 2019.

U.S. Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo tours St. Michael's Cathedral in Kyiv, Ukraine, on January 31, 2020.

U.S. Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo tours St. Michael's Cathedral in Kyiv, Ukraine, on January 31, 2020.

misa vespertina - Vespres-, ermita de Sant Joan Gran. Fiestas de Sant Joan. Ciutadella.Menorca,Islas Baleares,españa.

Expedition 16 Commander Peggy Whitson, right, Flight Engineer and Soyuz Commander Yuri Malenchenko participate in the traditional blessing prior to joining Malaysian spaceflight participant Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor for the bus ride to building 254 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome where the crew don their spacesuits, Wednesday, Oct. 10, 2007, in Baikonur. The crew is set to launch at sunset in their Soyuz TMA-11 spacecraft bound for a docking to the International Space Station on October 12. Whitson and Malenchenko will spend six months on the station, while Shukor will return to Earth October 21 with two of the Expedition 15 crewmembers currently on the complex.

U.S. Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo visits the Cathedral of the Nativity in Cairo, Egypt, on January 10, 2019.

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken visits the Ukrainian Catholic National Shrine to the Holy Family with Archbishop Borys Gudziak and Ukrainian Ambassador to the U.S. Oksana Markarova in Washington, D.C., on March 2, 2022.

Seville, 10/01/2020. Mass for the 4th centenary of the image of Jesus of the Great Power in the Plaza de San Lorenzo. Photo: Juan Flores. Archsev.

Trip to Europe: Italy, Rome: President Kennedy at the Pontifical North American College with Jean Kennedy Smith and Archbishop of Boston Richard Cardinal Cushing. President John F. Kennedy departs the Pontifical North American College (also known as American College of the Roman Catholic Church of the United States) in Rome, Italy; President Kennedy shakes hands with an unidentified member of the clergy. Also pictured: Jean Kennedy Smith; Naval Aide to President Kennedy, Captain Tazewell T. Shepard, Jr.; U.S. Chief of Protocol, Angier Biddle Duke; Rector of the Pontifical North American College in Rome, Monsignor Martin J. O'Connor.

Quebec, Canada. 29th July, 2022. Pope Francis during Meeting with a Delegation of Indigenous People Present in Quebec at the Archbishopricin Canada Quebec City, Canada, Photograph by Vatican Mediia/Catholic Press Photo . RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - NO MARKETING - NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. Credit: Independent Photo Agency Srl/Alamy Live News

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken participates in a Donbas Conflict Memorial Flower Laying with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and Metropolitan Epiphaniy in Kyiv, Ukraine, on May 6, 2021.

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken tours St. Michael�s Monastery with Metropolitan Epiphaniy in Kyiv, Ukraine, on May 6, 2021.

U.S. Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo meets with Metropolitan Epiphaniy in Kyiv, Ukraine, on January 31, 2020.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry removes his shoes as he prepares to enter the Salman Mosque in Djibouti, Djibouti, on May 6, 2015, to have a conversation with local Islamic youth.

U.S. Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo meets with recent Kuwaiti Graduates of U.S. Universities and Exchange Programs in Kuwait City, Kuwait, on March 20, 2019.

President Reagan lights candles.

caixers mass, knights in religious celebration, Sant Lluís parish church, Menorca, Balearic Islands, Spain.

Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo meets with His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, and National Security Advisor haikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa in Manama, Bahrain, on August 26, 2020.

President Bush toasts the Iftaar dinner for Muslim leaders

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Deputy Mufti Ramil Yunusov congratulate a newly wed couple in Kazan, Russia October 14, 2009.

U.S. Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo tours the Church of the Intercession of the Holy Virgin in Kyiv, Ukraine, on January 31, 2020.

Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo and Ambassador-At-Large for Religious Freedom Sam Brownback at the International Religious Freedom Alliance dinner at the Department of State in Washington, D.C., on February 5, 2020.

The 3 KINGS carrying CATHOLIC SYMBOLS of CHRIST'S CRUCIFICTION during GOOD FRIDAY PROCESSION - ANTIGUA, GUATAMALA

Quebec City, Canada, 27 July, 2022. Pope Francis flanked by Governor-General Mary Simon and by a member of the Indigenous community, listens Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at the Citadelle de Quebec (photo by Vatican Media). Credit: Vatican Media/Picciarella/Alamy Live News

Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo attends the inaugural mass of Dominican President Luis Abinader at the Basilica Cathedral in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, on August 16, 2020.

Syrian Orthodox Church celebrates the Feast of Theophany

Cossacks commemorate the rebirth of Cossacks in the Ukraine, Odessa, Odessa Oblast, Ukraine, Europe

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry look at the Church of Holy Mary of Grace, whose dome was made by Bramante as he walks with priests at the Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan, Italy, on October 17, 2015.

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken meets with His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C, on October 25, 2021.

Participants at the Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C. on July 26 2018.

Germany, Berlin, 10.03.2026, participants of the Rabbinical Center of Europe conference at the Brandenburg Gate

U.S. Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo meets with His Holiness Pope Francis in Vatican City, on October 3, 2019.

Ukraine, Kiev, Kyiv. Dormition Church at night. Priests carrying Easter religious candle decor. (Editorial Use Only)

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry presents a bouquet as he visits the That Luang Stupa - the most revered Buddhist temple in Laos - following meetings with government leaders on January 25, 2016, in Vientiane, Laos.

SantEgidio International Meeting for Peace, Paris, France, september 2024. Outside Notre Dame cathedral.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton relights the eternal flame and lays a wreath in the Hall of Remembrance in Jerusalem March 3, 2009.

Models dressed in period costumes in Palace interior scenes

Funeral ceremony of the late Pope Francis at St. Peter's Square in the Vatican on April 26, 2025.

Madrid, 03-5-2004 visit of Prince Felipe and Mrs. Letizia Ortiz to the church of Jesús de Medinaceli photo Jaime García.

Quebec, Canada, 29 July, 2022. Pope Francis during a meeting with a Delegation of Indigenous people present in Quebec at the Archbishopric (photo by Vatican Media). Credit: Vatican Media/Picciarella/Alamy Live News

Secretary of State Micheal R. Pompeo and Mrs. Susan Pompeo tours the Patriarchal Church of St. George, in Istanbul, Turkey, on November 17, 2020.

With U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry looking on, Indian Ambassador to the U.S. Dr. S. Jaishankar lights the traditional Diwali oil lamp, also known as the diya, at the Diwali Celebration at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C., on October 23, 2014.

U.S. Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo and Mrs. Susan Pompeo tour the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem on March 21, 2019.

Secretary of State Micheal R. Pompeo meets with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I at the Patriarchal Church of St. George, in Istanbul, Turkey, on November 17, 2020.

Rome (Italy), May 17, 2025. The Great Jubilee Procession of the Brotherhoods, with the participation of the Christ of the Expiration of the Brotherhood of the Cachorro of Seville and the Virgin of Hope of Malaga. Official box at the Circus Maximus. Photo: Raúl Doblado. ARCHSEV.

Vatican, Vatican. 27th July, 2022. Canada, Quebec City, 2022/07/27 P(L-R) Pope Francis (L) and Governor General of Canada Mary Simon (C) listen as Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks during a meeting with civil authorities, representatives of Indigenous peoples, and members of the diplomatic corps at the Citadelle de Québec in Quebec City, Quebec, CanadaPhotograph by Vatican Mediia/Catholic Press Photo . RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - NO MARKETING - NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. Credit: Independent Photo Agency/Alamy Live News

Requiem Mass with President Sarkozy and his wife, Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris, France, Europe

Events at the Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom at the U.S. Department of State in Washington D.C. on July 17, 2019.

Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo participates in a roundtable on religious freedom in the Archbishop of Canterbury�s House., London, United Kingdom, May 8, 2019.

Almonte (Huelva), 02/14/2020. Visit of the Kings of Spain to Almonte to inaugurate the congress on the Doñana National Park, and subsequent visit to the Virgen del Rocío. Photo: JM Serrano. ARCHSEV.

Ambassador at Large for Religious Freedom Sam Brownback welcomes participants and speakers at the Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom held at the U.S. Department of State in Washington D.C. on July 16-18, 2019.

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken visits the Ukrainian Catholic National Shrine to the Holy Family with Archbishop Borys Gudziak and Ukrainian Ambassador to the U.S. Oksana Markarova in Washington, D.C., on March 2, 2022.

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken visits the Ukrainian Catholic National Shrine to the Holy Family with Archbishop Borys Gudziak and Ukrainian Ambassador to the U.S. Oksana Markarova in Washington, D.C., on March 2, 2022.

Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo meets with the Community of Sant'Egidio in Rome, Italy, on October 1, 2020.

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken participates in a Donbas Conflict Memorial Flower Laying with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and Metropolitan Epiphaniy in Kyiv, Ukraine, on May 6, 2021.

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken participates in a Donbas Conflict Memorial Flower Laying with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and Metropolitan Epiphaniy in Kyiv, Ukraine, on May 6, 2021.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry speaks with a group of Catholic clergy members as they waited for Pope Francis at Andrews Air Force Base in Camp Springs, Maryland, before the Pontiff took a flight to New York, N.Y., on September 24, 2015.

SantEgidio International Meeting for Peace, Paris, France, september 2024. March from Saint Severin church to Notre Dame cathedral.

Omani Foreign Minister Yusuf bin Alawi escorts U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry to his waiting plane on November 15, 2016, before the Secretary departed from Muscat International Airport in Muscat, Oman, following a bilateral visit to the country.

Pope Francis during his weekly general audience in Paul VI hall at the Vatican.

Secretary Michael R. Pompeo meets with Apostolic Nuncio to Turkey, Archbishop Paul Russell, in Istanbul, Turkey, on November 17, 2020.

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken participates in a Donbas Conflict Memorial Flower Laying with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and Metropolitan Epiphaniy in Kyiv, Ukraine, on May 6, 2021.

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson pays respects to His Majesty the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej at the Red Room of the Chambers of the Bureau of the Royal Household at the Grand Palace in Bangkok, Thailand, on August 8, 2017.

Madrid, 11/09/2022. Mass in the Almudena Cathedral on the occasion of the patron saint's day of Madrid, officiated by Monsignor Osoro with the presence of Díaz Ayuso, Martínez Almeida and other authorities. Photo: Jaime García. ARCHDC.

President George W. Bush talks with Islamic community leaders. He toured the Islamic Center of Washington, D.C. on Sept. 17, 2001.. (BSLOC_2015_2_156)

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry meets with Christian Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai at the Archdiocese in Beirut, Lebanon, on June 4, 2014.

Expedition 56 flight engineer Serena Auñón-Chancellor of NASA, Soyuz Commander Sergey Prokopyev of Roscosmos, and flight engineer Alexander Gerst of ESA (European Space Agency) receive a blessing from a Russian Orthodox Priest at the Cosmonaut Hotel prior to departing the hotel for launch on a Soyuz rocket, Wednesday, June 6, 2018 in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. Auñón-Chancellor, Prokopyev, and Gerst will launch in their Soyuz MS-09 spacecraft to the International Space Station to being a six month mission.

Living Legacy Awards event, recognizing contributions to Native American arts promotion, at Department of Interior headquarters, Washington, D.C.

Edmonton, Canada, 26 July, 2022. Pope Francis meeting with indigenous peoples and parishioners of the Church of the Sacred Heart during his apostolic visit to Canada. (Photo by Vatican Media). Credit: Vatican Media/Picciarella/Alamy Live News

Nikola Eterović (Archbishop of the Holy See) and Frank-Walter Steinmeier (President of the Federal Republic of Germany) at the Federal President's New Year's Reception at Bellevue Palace, Berlin 14 January 2025

U.S. Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo visits St. Michael's Memorial with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko and Metropolitan Epiphaniy in Kyiv, Ukraine, on January 31, 2020.

Church funeral.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry looks at Hazrat Sultan Mosque while touring with Chief Imam Serikbay Oraz in Astana, Kazakhstan on November 2, 2015.

Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo meets with Primate of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine Metropolitan Epiphaniy, at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C., on October 23, 2019.

WARSAW, Poland - Distinguished visitors, refugees from Ukraine, and local members from the Jewish community stand together in synagogue shortly before the commencement of prayers after the dedication of a Torah Scroll to the Ukrainian Army was completed, Nov. 29, 2022, Warsaw, Poland. Jewish Chaplains alongside distinguished guests, refugees from Ukraine, and U.S. ally partner nations attended the event to support the Ukrainian Chaplaincys religious support efforts.

Jean-Jacques Dordain, ESA Director-General, center, talks with unidentified ESA manager as an Orthodox Priest waits for Expedition 36/37 Soyuz Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos), Flight Engineers: Flight Engineer Karen Nyberg of NASA, and, Luca Parmitano of the European Space Agency, so that he may preform the traditional blessing prior to the three crew members departing the Cosmonaut Hotel for launch onboard a Soyuz to the International Space Station, Tuesday, May 28, 2013, Baikonur Kazakhstan. The crew's Soyuz rocket is scheduled to launch at 2:31a.m., Wednesday May 29, Kazakh time. Yurchikhin, Nyberg, and, Parmitano, will remain aboard the station until mid-November.

misa vespertina - Vespres-, ermita de Sant Joan Gran. Fiestas de Sant Joan. Ciutadella.Menorca,Islas Baleares,españa.

Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo participates in a roundtable on religious freedom in the Archbishop of Canterbury�s House., London, United Kingdom, May 8, 2019.

Fumio Kishida, the Japanese Prime Minister, speaks to attendees during the 2022 Memorial Ceremony for All War Dead in Okinawa, at Peace Memorial Park, Okinawa, Japan, June 23, 2022. Leaders from across Okinawa gathered during the ceremony to honor the lives that were lost during the Battle of Okinawa.

U.S. Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo meets with His Holiness Pope Francis in Vatican City, on October 3, 2019.

SantEgidio International Meeting for Peace, Paris, France, september 2024. Outside Notre Dame cathedral.

Bermuda, St Georges, Freemasons Taking Part In The Peppercorn Ceremony.

Russian Orthodox Priest Father Sergei blesses the Expedition 61 prime and backup crews in the Cosmonaut Hotel prior to the crew departing for launch on a Soyuz rocket with Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2019 in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. Expedition 61 crewmembers Jessica Meir of NASA and Oleg Skripochka of Roscosmos, and spaceflight participant Hazzaa Ali Almansoori of the United Arab Emirates will launch later in the day on the Soyuz MS-15 spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome to the International Space Station.

U.S. Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo tours St. Michael's Cathedral in Kyiv, Ukraine, on January 31, 2020.

An Orthodox priest blesses members of the public at the Baikonur Cosmodrome Launch pad on Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2013 in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. Launch of the Soyuz rocket is scheduled for September 26 and will send Expedition 37/38 Flight Engineer Michael Hopkins of NASA, Soyuz Commander Oleg Kotov and Flight Engineer and Russian Flight Engineer Sergei Ryazansky on a five-month mission aboard the International Space Station.

Russian Orthodox Priest Father Sergei waits to bless the Expedition 59 crew in the Cosmonaut Hotel, Thursday, March 14, 2019 in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. Hague, Koch, and Ovchinin will launch March 14, U.S. time, on the Soyuz MS-12 spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome for a six-and-a-half month mission on the International Space Station.

SantEgidio International Meeting for Peace, Notre Dame cathedral, Paris, France, september 2024.

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken meets with Pope Francis, in Vatican City, the Holy See on June 28, 2021.

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken meets with Pope Francis, in Vatican City, the Holy See on June 28, 2021.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry speaks with faith-based leaders after delivering remarks at the launch of the Office for Engagement With Faith-Based Communities at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C., on August 7, 2013.

Vatican, Vatican. 24th July, 2022. Canada, Alberta, 2022/07/24 Pope Francis meets members of an indigenous tribe during his welcoming ceremony at Edmonton International Airport in Alberta, western Canada Photograph by Vatican Mediia/Catholic Press Photo. RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - NO MARKETING - NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. Credit: Independent Photo Agency/Alamy Live News

Participants at the Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C. on July 26 2018.

President Barack Obama tours the Sultan Hassan Mosque with Dr. Zahi Hawass (left), Iman Abdel Fateh (right), and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Cairo, Egypt, June 4, 2009.

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