Vespers at the conclusion of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

27 Jan 2025

On Saturday 25 January 2025, Pope Francis once again marked the end of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity by presiding at Vespers at the Basilica of St Paul outside the Walls. Representatives of many Christian churches and communities were present at the celebration. From among them, Metropolitan Polycarp, Archbishop of Italy, representing the Ecumenical Patriarchate, and Archbishop Ian Ernest, representing the Anglican Communion, accompanied the Holy Father during a moment of prayer at the tomb of St Paul before the liturgy, and joined him again to impart the blessing at the end of Vespers. Among the groups present were students supported by the Committee for Cultural Collaboration with the Orthodox and the Oriental Orthodox Churches, and students from the World Council of Churches Ecumenical Institute at Bossey, Switzerland.

The reflections and prayers for each year’s Week of Prayer for Christian Unity are published jointly by the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity and the Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches. The preparation of the texts for 2025 – the 1700th anniversary of the First Council of Nicaea – was entrusted by them to the brothers and sisters of the Community of Bose, Italy. With this anniversary in mind, the theme chosen by the Bose Community for 2025 was from the conversation in St John’s Gospel between Jesus and Martha after the death of Lazarus (Jn 11,26): “Do you believe this?

In his homily, Pope Francis reflected on the encounter between Jesus and Martha, in the context of the current Jubilee of Hope, saying that it “teaches us that even in times of desolation, we are not alone and we can continue to hope”. This message applies both in our personal lives and in our ecumenical relationships. “At times, we are overwhelmed by fatigue and discouraged by the results of our labours. It can even seem as if the dialogue and the efforts made on both sides are hopeless, almost doomed to failure. All of this makes us experience the same anguish as Martha, but the Lord comes to us. Do we believe this?” Referring to the anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, the Pope said that it should not be merely a historical commemoration, but also an opportunity to bear witness to the growing communion between Christians, and as a call to persevere in the journey towards unity. “This year, the celebration of Easter coincides in both the Gregorian and Julian calendars, a circumstance that proves providential as we commemorate the anniversary of the Ecumenical Council. I renew my appeal that this coincidence may serve as an appeal to all Christians to take a decisive step forward towards unity around a common date for Easter.”