Pilgrimage and ecumenical vespers of Archdiocese of Łódź (Poland)

On 28 April Pope Francis received 1,400 Polish pilgrims led by Archbishop Grzegorz Ryś visiting Rome at the end of the centenary celebrations of the Archdiocese of Łodz.

In his address Pope Francis mentioned the presence of other Christians in the group: “I feel great joy seeing such a large representation of brothers and sisters belonging to other Christian Churches. I warmly greet the Orthodox Bishop and the Calvinist Bishop. I greet also the members of the Łódź section of the Polish Ecumenical Council, together with their President. I know that your presence here and your common prayer in Rome are part of ongoing and daily ecumenical relations and activities. Your communion in diversity is a sign of synodality, synodality in action. Thank you”.

On the same day, ecumenical vespers were held in the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls, during which Cardinal Kurt Koch offered a reflection on baptism as the foundation of ecumenism.

Among the representatives of the other churches present at the event were Bishop Marek Izdebski, Reformed Evangelical Church of Poland, together with other Reformed pastors; Revd Semko Koroza, President of the Ecumenical Council of Łódź; Revd Michał Makula, Lutheran Evangelical Church in Łódź; Revd Father Eugeniusz Fiedorczuk of the Orthodox Church, together with other Orthodox priests; Revd Stanislaw Bankiewicz, Mariavite Church in Poland; Revd Jacek Zdrojewski, Old Catholic Church; and other ordained ministers of various Christian churches involved in the ecumenical dialogue in Łódź.

Last February, an ecumenical conference was held in Łódź, with the participation of Monsignor Juan Usma Gómez, Head of the Western Section of the PCPCU.