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On May 18, His Holiness Pope Leo XIV’s Inauguration Mass was held in Saint Peter’s Square, Vatican City. Soka Gakkai Italy representatives, including Alberto Aprea, president of Soka Gakkai Italy, attended the inauguration, along with other religious delegations. On May 19, the representatives also participated in a special audience with the Pope for ecumenical and interreligious delegations. During the audience, Mr. Aprea conveyed a congratulatory message from Soka Gakkai President Minoru Harada.

On May 9, a German edition of a dialogue between Dr. Jutta Unkart-Seifert, former undersecretary of Austria’s Federal Ministry of Education, the Arts and Sport, and a renowned soprano, and President Daisaku Ikeda was published by Austrian publishing house Ibera Verlag. A launch event was held on May 10 at the Austria SGI Culture Center Villa Windisch-Grätz in Vienna. Dr. Unkart-Seifert delivered a speech at the event. This edition, titled Licht des Lebens: Das Lied der Mutter (tentative translation: The Light of Life, Songs of Mothers), is the second language the book has been translated into. The book was originally published in Japanese in 2015, and the traditional Chinese edition followed in 2023.   

On May 3, some 1,000 Soka Gakkai members from across Africa gathered in Lomé, the capital of Togo, for the Africa Hope General Meeting. The meeting celebrated Soka Gakkai Day and marked the 50th anniversary of establishment of the Soka Gakkai International (SGI) in 1975. At SGI’s inauguration meeting, just three African countries were represented. The Africa Hope General Meeting brought together Soka Gakkai members from 24 African countries, highlighting the growth of the Soka Gakkai on the continent since then and 65 years after President Daisaku Ikeda first advocated that the 21st century be the Century of Africa. The meeting was attended by a delegation from Japan led by SGI General Director Yoshiki Tanigawa. SGI Vice General Director Ida Gbodossou Adjévi also attended. Both Mr. Tanigawa and Ms. Gbodossou gave congratulatory remarks. Representatives from Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and Togo delivered a youth declaration, pledging to work for peace in solidarity across Africa. A participant from Togo shared how she overcame various difficulties, including illness within her family and financial issues through her Buddhist practice. The meeting ended with song and dance performances.