Peres, Abbas, and Francis

The Israeli and Palestinian presidents joined in an unprecedented prayer meeting with Pope Francis Sunday, a gesture the pontiff hopes will "re-create a desire, a possibility" of kick-starting the stalled Middle East peace process.

Israeli President Shimon Peres and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas accepted a surprise public invitation from Francis to come to “his home” to pray together during his recent visit to the region.

“It is my hope that this meeting will mark the beginning of a new journey where we seek the things that unite, so as to overcome the things that divide,” Francis said Sunday. He thanked the presidents for accepting his invitation, and said that people of varied cultures and religions had been praying for a meeting of this nature.

The Vatican is keen to play down suggestions that Sunday’s event is political, but it is nonetheless a symbolic gesture that has the power to stir public opinion and put pressure on the Israeli and Palestinian authorities to find a way out of the stalemate.