During the URI Europe Assembly 2026 in Barcelona, participants gathered inside the iconic Sagrada Família for a moment of reflection, silence, and shared presence. In that extraordinary space, Prof. Dr. Joan Hernández-Serret offered words that connected the spirit of the basilica with the deeper purpose of interfaith cooperation: dialogue not only as an idea, but as lived experience.
Speaking as director of the Stable Working Group on Religions (GTER), diocesan director of interfaith relations for the Catholic Church, former secretary general of Religions for Peace Europe, and secretary general of Religions for Peace Spain, he invited participants to move beyond “us” and “them” and to continue walking together with hope.
Below is the full text of Prof. Dr. Joan Hernández-Serret’s reflection delivered during the URI Europe Assembly 2026 in Barcelona.
Dear friends of URI, President of GTER, Imam Larbi,
It is an honor and a deep joy to welcome you here, to Barcelona, in this very special place. I greet you from three roles that I currently embody: as director of the Stable Working Group on Religions (GTER), as diocesan director of interfaith relations for the Catholic Church, former secretary general of Religions for Peace Europe, and as secretary general of Religions for Peace Spain. But above all, I greet you as a fellow traveler on the journey.
Look where we are. This basilica of the Sagrada Família is no ordinary place. Gaudí conceived it with a deeply Catholic inspiration, yes, but with an openness to the world, to everyone. It is not a space only for Catholics, but for knowing God, for spirituality through experience. Here, the light, the stone, and the silence speak a language that everyone can understand.
And this is exactly what I want to talk to you about.
GTER was born in 2004, right after we organized the 4th Parliament of the World's Religions. More than twenty years have passed walking together. Twenty years in which we have learned one fundamental thing: GTER is not a group of people. Nor is it only a group of leaders. GTER is a meeting space for official institutions that want to promote joint work among religions from a very specific place: the pedagogy of action and shared experience.
That is why, among us, the presidency rotates. Because what matters is not who the president is or who the vice presidents are. What matters is how we make it possible for all religious people those most committed to dialogue, but especially those who are not yet committed to meet, share, and work for those most in need of the city. This is our reason for being.
And here, in the Sagrada Família, the parallel becomes clear. Just as this temple is a space for knowing spirituality through experience, GTER wants to be a space for knowing interfaith dialogue through experience. Without mediators. With the inner call to walk together in this common home.
And now, in this moment, I invite you to do something: look at this space. Look at the light coming through the stained glass windows. Look at the people around you. Close your eyes for a moment and keep this experience inside you. May this shared experience leave a footprint in your heart.
I hope, with all my heart, that these days of shared experience leave many footprints within you. Footprints that give you strength for your journey, for your projects in your own countries.
It is time to work together because in this moment, worldwide, it is time to move beyond “us” and “them.” It is not about my people. It is about simply being. Simply and deeply, being. With what each one of you is. And, from that truth, being a light for this world that so badly needs people who are open and committed to who they are.
Thank you for being here. Thank you for walking together.
Thank you for leaving an echo of hope.
Prof. Dr. Joan Hernández-Serret’s reflection captured much of what the URI Europe Assembly sought to create over those days in Barcelona: not only conversation, but encounter. Not only exchange, but shared experience.
His invitation to “leave an echo of hope” reflects the deeper purpose of interfaith cooperation itself. Peace is built through moments of genuine human connection that leave lasting footprints within us and shape how we return to our communities, our work, and one another.
As participants left the Sagrada Família and continued their journeys home, they carried with them not only memories of Barcelona but also a renewed reminder that even in difficult times, hope can still be practiced together.
