ORT’s Audience With Pope Francis Marks Scholas Success

08.06.23

World ORT Chief Program Officer Vladimir Dribinskiy met Pope Francis as part of our ongoing collaboration with the Pontiff’s Scholas Occurrentes Foundation.

To mark the occasion, World ORT planted three trees in the Panama rainforest, ensuring a healthy habitat for rainforest plants and animals.

Our commitment to the Scholas educational interfaith annual event and program has seen dozens of ORT students from around the world meet their peers to discuss issues relating to understanding, tolerance and sustainability. The event is sponsored by, and was introduced to World ORT by, the Leo Werthein Foundation.

It is hoped this year’s event will take place in São Paulo, Brazil, in October.

Mr Dribinskiy presented the Pope with a certificate giving the exact geolocation of the planted trees.

Mr Dribinskiy said the audience at the Pontificio Istituto Patristico Augustinianum next to the Vatican was a remarkable opportunity and that Pope Francis had appeared delighted with the donation of the trees.

World ORT’s annual Ecology Summer School takes place in the Panama rainforest and gives students an understanding of environmental and sustainability issues.

Previous Scholas meetings have taken place in Jerusalem, the Vatican, Argentina, Panama and Mexico.

The certificate Vladimir Dribinskiy presented to Pope Francis