ROME -- A delegation from the religious community of Sant’Egidio based in Italy’s capital will be present, on invitation, at the signing of Colombia’s peace deal in Cartagena Monday evening, Sant’Egidio sources said Monday.

 The letter of invitation to the Catholic community praises the “great support” offered by Sant’Egidio “from the very beginning of this negotiation process” between the Colombian government and the FARC -- the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, which had culminated in peace talks in Havana, Cuba throughout the past few years.

 The religious community expresses great joy and satisfaction over this historical deal that sees the end to a violent civil war that has put over 200,000 to death and caused over five million citizens to become internally displaced.

 For Sant’Egidio, this feat accomplished by the third most populated country in Latin America shows that “peace is always possible” even when the distance between the two parties involved seems unbridgeable.

 nkd