Pope at Ecumenical Vespers: We Are One, Let's Make it Visible

Vatican, 26 Jan, 2025: On the feast of the Conversion of St. Paul, closing the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, Pope Leo invited Christians to press on with their united mission to spread the Gospel worldwide.

Pope Leo highlighted how diverse Christian traditions hold the same faith and pressed them to advance together in evangelising the world, during his address on Sunday, 25 January. “We are one! We already are! Let us recognise it, experience it and make it visible!” he proclaimed in his homily for Second Vespers on the Feast of the Conversion of St Paul, marking the week's end. He observed that this annual occasion recalls Christians' pledge to proclaim the Gospel, noting “bearing in mind that the divisions among us – while they do not prevent the light of Christ from shining – nonetheless make the face which must reflect it to the world less radiant.”

Held at Rome's Basilica of St Paul Outside the Walls, site of the Apostle's tomb, the Week of Prayer spans 18-25 January each year in the northern hemisphere.

Present were delegates from various Christian Churches: Metropolitan Polykarpos for the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, Archbishop Khajag Barsamian of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Bishop Anthony Ball of the Anglican Communion, Cardinal Kurt Koch (Prefect, Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity), plus ecumenical groups and pilgrims.

*St. Paul, example for Christians' mission*

In his homily, Pope Leo referenced this year’s theme from St Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians: “we repeatedly hear the adjective 'one': one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God.” “Dear brothers and sisters, how can these inspired words not touch us deeply? How can our hearts not burn within us when we hear them?” he asked, stressing shared faith in God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit.

He invoked St Paul’s shift from persecutor to zealous proclaimer of Jesus’s love as a model. Before the Apostle’s tomb, Pope Leo noted it reminds all Christians of their call: “to proclaim Christ and to invite everyone to place their trust in him.”

Pope Leo quoted the Second Vatican Council’s Lumen Gentium, affirming the Church’s zeal to share Christ’s light with humanity. “It is the shared task of all Christians to say humbly and joyfully to the world: ‘Look to Christ! Come closer to him! Welcome his word that enlightens and consoles!’,” he urged.

*Commemorating Nicaea, embracing synodality*

Pope Leo recalled his November 2025 ecumenical prayer in Iznik, Türkiye, for Nicaea’s 1700th anniversary. “Reciting the Nicene Creed together in the very place where it was formulated was a profound and unforgettable testimony to our unity in Christ,” he said. “May the Holy Spirit find in us docile minds even today, so that we may proclaim the faith with one voice to the men and women of our time!”

Looking ahead to 2033’s 2000th anniversary of Christ’s Passion, death, and Resurrection, he called to “commit ourselves to further developing ecumenical synodal practices and to sharing with one another who we are, what we do and what we teach.” Echoing Pope Francis, he linked Catholic synodality to ecumenism, citing fraternal delegates at 2023-2024 Synod assemblies. “I believe this is a path for growing together in mutual knowledge of our respective synodal structures and traditions,” he concluded.

Courtesy: Vatican