In a September letter addressed to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Francis presented a six-point program for peace to world leaders before they met at a G-20 summit in St. Petersburg. Then, when a U.S.-led military intervention in Syria seemed inevitable following a chemical weapons attack near Damascus, Francis led an international day of prayer and fasting that many credit with helping to avoid an escalation of fighting.

Now the Vatican is intervening by organizing a one-day meeting to promote four main objectives: a ceasefire to facilitate humanitarian aid; the protection of Syrian Christians and encouragement of inter- religious dialogue; the creation of a transitional and unified government to oversee security; and intervention to halt human trafficking and prostitution in the wartorn nation.

Sponsored by the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, the day-long Vatican “workshop” will include such international luminaries as former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and former Egyptian Vice President Mohamed ElBaradei. It will be held Jan. 13, nine days before major peace talks open Jan. 22 in Geneva between the Syrian government and opposition forces.

The meeting’s title is “Syria: With a death toll of 126,000 and 300,000 orphans in 36 months of war, can we remain indifferent?”

Through the first nine months of his papacy, Pope Francis has been anything but indifferent to the suffering of the Syrian people. At Christmas and at his Easter Mass last March he offered special prayers for peace in Syria and called on Christians to become channels of mercy, justice and peace. In June he again called for an end to fighting in Syria, denouncing the “multiplication of massacres and atrocious acts.” He went a step further in September with his letter to Putin and his call for all peace-loving people in the world to join him in a day of fast and prayer as he led an unprecedented solemn vigil in St. Peter’s Square attended by tens of thousands of people.

In his letter to Putin, the Pope said it is “regrettable that, from the very beginning of the conflict in Syria, one-sided interests have prevailed and in fact hindered the search for a solution that would have avoided the senseless massacre now unfolding.” He added a “heartfelt appeal” to G-20 leaders “to help find ways to overcome the conflicting positions and to lay aside the futile pursuit of a military solution.”

His September intervention to prevent a U.S.-led military strike on Syria was called an extraordinary campaign by the new Pope. Prior to his appeal, U.S. bombing of strategic Syrian targets seemed inevitable, but the tide turned as the international community rallied to the Pope’s plea for dialogue. The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Archbishop Fouad Twal, said the vigil produced a “miracle” by grounding the bombers.

Prior to the peace vigil, the Vatican distributed a three-page memoir to ambassadors accredited to the Holy See that laid out a vision for a peaceful Syria. Entitled “Regarding the Situation in Syria,” the document stressed dialogue and reconciliation in order to avoid having Syria carved into different territories based on tribal or religious heritage. It advocated a “place for everyone” in a new Syria and emphasized the need for a unified government that included minorities, guaranteed equality and religious freedom, and protected human rights.

Those themes will almost certainly guide discussions when the Vatican convenes its meeting on Jan. 13. The Vatican has invited eight international experts and leaders to discuss the tragedy unfolding in Syria, the political stances of the major international players involved and possible solutions.

With opening remarks by French Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, the invited speakers are: Blair, founder of the Tony Blair Faith Foundation; ElBaradei, 2005 Nobel Peace Prize winner and a major figure in Egypt’s revolution against ousted Presidents Hosni Mubarak and Mohammed Morsi; U.S. economist and adviser Jeffrey Sachs; Thomas Walsh, the U.S. president of the Universal Peace Federation; Pyotr Stegny, a former diplomat and expert in the Middle East; Joseph Maila, a Lebanese expert on the Middle East and Islam; Miguel Angel Moratinos, a Spanish diplomat who served seven years as the European Union special representative for the Middle East peace process; and Thierry de Montbrial, a French expert in international relations.

The workshop program outlines Pope Francis’ calls, prayers and diplomatic efforts for peace in the region. It credits Putin with convincing U.S. President Barack Obama to not carry out its threat of military strikes on Syria in September in response to the reported use of chemical weapons against civilians by forces loyal to Assad.

With Russia and the United States now “on the same side to prevent violence,” and with the Geneva II talks set to begin, the Vatican is hopeful that the UN peace process might now succeed in “keeping al-Qaida at bay” and find a pragmatic long-term solution for “Syria’s complex internal divisions.”

This comes after a two-person delegation representing the Syrian government delivered a letter to Pope Francis from Assad. The letter was delivered Dec. 28 when the Syrians met at the Vatican with Archbishop Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, and Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, the Vatican foreign minister.

The Vatican confirmed the delegates gave the Pope “a message” that illustrated the position of the Syrian government. The Vatican gave no details about the letter’s contents, but Syria’s state-run SANA agency reported the message said Assad’s government was ready for peace talks but wanted foreign countries to stop supporting “the armed terrorist groups” in Syria. The president also said in his message that he appreciated the Pope’s Dec. 25 call for an end to the violence in Syria, the news agency said.

Assad told the Pope “the crisis will be solved through national dialogue among the Syrians and under a Syrian leadership without foreign intervention as to enable the Syrians to determine their future and leadership through ballots,” SANA reported.

The January talks in Geneva are a follow-up to a meeting in June 2012 when international parties proposed a peace plan calling for a transitional government body in an effort to end a civil war that began in March 2011. It will bring together Syrian government officials and rebel leaders to see if they can agree on a transitional government with full executive powers.

As it did successfully in September, the Vatican seems intent on trying to influence events to steer negotiators towards a just and lasting solution for the reconstruction of the country in a way that will bring permanent peace and preserve a significant Christian presence in Syria.

(With files from Catholic News Service)