Boccaccini was among the international scholars invited to attend the international conference on "Jesus and the Pharisees" (May 7-9, 2019) on the occasion of the 110th anniversary of the Biblical Institute's Founding. The conference examined the various ancient sources about the Pharisees (Josephus, Qumran, archaeological data, the New Testament, and Rabbinic Literature), as well as the history of interpretation, from Patristic Literature, to Medieval Jewish interpretations, to Passion Plays, the Movies, Religion Text Books, and Homiletics. It aimed to promote better mutual relations between Christians and Jews and look at possible ways to represent the Pharisees less inadequately in the future.

Pope Francis received the group of participants in a special private audience in Vatican and then spent some time in conversation with each scholar, emphasizing the value of historical research for the Jewish-Christian dialogue.