Pax Christi Annual General Meeting and Peace Awards

Pax Christi members and supporters from around the country will gather in London on 6 June to celebrate 70 years of the movement which was founded in France in 1945.

At its recent World Assembly in Bethlehem, 160 delegates from around the world affirmed the role and mission of Pax Christi: "Forged in the broken relationships of a brutal war, Pax Christi began its journey 70 years ago with a vision based on the gospel – love your enemies – and rooted in a deep belief that reconciliation was possible.

"Shaped over the years by people of faith struggling to make peace in the midst of injustice and war, violence and repression, our movement brings to this moment in history a renewed commitment to make real in our lives and in our work for peace the values we claim to hold."

Pax Christi's national president, Archbishop Malcolm McMahon will be present and will give the bi-annual Pax Christi Peace Award to three women : Sheila Gallagher from Westminster Diocese, Sue Scott from Birmingham Diocese and Anna Kobayashi from Brentwood Diocese.

The Award goes to grass-roots peacemakers who quietly and persistently work in issues of social justice and peace at local level. The Award is a beautiful medal which reflects the work of Neve Shalom-Wahat al Salaam village in Israel for Israeli's and Arabs to live together, and was established by the late Fr Bruno Hassar.

Reports on the work of the Pax Christi in England and Wales will be given by the chair, Anne Dodd and members of the Pax Christi national team.

The meeting will be held in Holy Apostles Church Hall, Cumberland Street, Pimlico, London SW1V 4LY. The programme will include Ziad Hilal SJ, a Syrian national who works with Jesuit Refugee Service, speaking of his work in Homs. Fr Ziad was a colleague of Frans Van der Lught who was killed in Homs in 2014. Last year, Jesuit Refugee Service in Syria were given the Pax Christi International Peace Award.

Pax Christi's International Secretary, José Henriqué, who was recently refused entry into Israel for the movement's 70th Anniversary Assembly in Bethlehem, will also speak.

The business meeting will be held between 10.45 - 1.00pm. The talks and award ceremony take place between 2-4 pm