Pope Francis met with international Jewish leaders on Tuesday to launch an initiative to strengthen the Catholic-Jewish bonds.

“This visit testifies to and strengthens the bonds of friendship uniting us,” the pope told members of the World Jewish Congress at the Vatican on Nov. 22.

Pope Francis spoke with the executive committee of the international federation of Jewish communities and organizations during its twice-annual meeting, which took place in Rome and the Vatican on Nov. 21–22.

Before meeting the pope, the executive committee of the congress held a special session with Vatican officials and diplomats accredited to the Holy See.

The gathering focused on strengthening the bonds between the Vatican and the congress, which represents Jewish communities in more than 100 countries.

Pope Francis said their visit “testifies to and strengthens the bonds of friendship uniting us” and builds on more than 50 years of official dialogue since the Second Vatican Council.

Catholics and Jews, he said, have learned to recognize that they “share priceless spiritual treasures,” beginning from faith in the one God who made heaven and earth, “who not only created humanity but forms every human being in his own image and likeness.”

“We believe that the Almighty has not remained distant from his creation, but has revealed himself, not communicating only with an isolated few, but addressing us as a people,” the pope said. And “through faith and the reading of the Scriptures handed down in our religious traditions, we can enter into a relationship with him and cooperate with his providential will.”

The World Jewish Congress is an international organization that represents Jewish communities and organizations in 100 countries around the world. It advocates on their behalf towards governments, parliaments, international organizations and other faiths. The WJC represents the plurality of the Jewish people and is politically non-partisan.

Since it was founded in 1936, in Geneva, Switzerland, the WJC has been at the forefront of fighting for the rights of Jews and Jewish communities around the world.

ALSO READ 60th Anniversary Of The Opening Of The II Vatican Council