There is a growing interest in Prem Rawat’s message of peace in Sicily. Early in 2009 Prem Rawat was invited to speak to the townspeople of two Sicilan cities, Agrigento and Mazara del Vallo. Several more have expressed a similar interest. In Agrigento, the mayor asked him to light the Torch of Friendship and Brotherhood at the opening of their annual Almond Blossom Festival, a highlight of the year.

Later, he was the guest of honor at the Pirandello Theatre, where he received honorary citizenship of Agrigento, and was presented an award of recognition by the president of the Members of the Sicilian Parliament. The audience was packed with dignitaries and local townspeople who had come to hear about the possibility of peace for all. “Peace is important,” Prem Rawat told them. “This is not a new quest. I’m sure that as armies marched across nations with ideas of conquering, there were always voices begging for peace. Were they listened to? I don’t know. But I do know that today we are here to make a voice for that peace.”

The following day, Prem Rawat was greeted enthusiastically in Mazara del Vallo at a special event honoring him called, “Peace – A Right for Every Man, Heritage of Humanity.” After a ceremony in City Hall, where Mayor Giorgio Macaddino made him an honorary citizen, Prem Rawat addressed a standing-room-only audience of townspeople who gathered to hear him at the Rivoli Theatre.

Even the press was interested in what he had to say. The Giornale di Sicilia reported: “In his addresses Prem Rawat expresses an idea of peace as a ‘new essential need,’ which is fundamental for relationships between people and a reality existing within each individual. ‘If a person considers himself worthless,’ said Prem Rawat, ‘he will also consider others worthless, and this will generate only rage and frustration. Contentment, gratitude and friendship must be practiced daily. We are the lamps that can light other lamps and these, more lamps again.’”