Pope Francis receives the Archbishop of Canterbury

2 Oct 2023

On Saturday 30 September 2023, Pope Francis received the Archbishop of Canterbury, His Grace Justin Welby, in private audience. Archbishop Welby was in Rome at the invitation of the Holy Father on the occasion of the ecumenical prayer vigil, Together. The Archbishop and his party also attended the Consistory for the Creation of New Cardinals the same day.

During their meeting, the Pope and the Archbishop discussed the forthcoming General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, their hopes for peace and reconciliation in South Sudan following the Ecumenical Peace Pilgrimage that they made with the Moderator of the Church of Scotland in February 2023, as well as the impact of climate change and migration on the poorest people of the world.

The Archbishop was accompanied by Archbishop Ian Ernest, Director of the Anglican Centre in Rome and Personal Representative of the Archbishop of Canterbury to the Holy See; Bishop Anthony Poggo, Secretary General of the Anglican Communion; Canon Jeremy Morris, Church of England National Adviser for Ecumenical Relations; and some of their colleagues.

Cardinal Kurt Koch, Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, and Fr Martin Browne OSB, Official responsible for relations with the Anglican Communion, accompanied Archbishop Welby and his party.

The Archbishop of Canterbury and Pope Francis last met on October 5, 2021.