Ecumenical Prayer Vigil: Pope Francis, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby are expected at 5pm (CET)

Pope Francis has invited leaders of Churches from differentdenominations to join him in prayer on September 30 in order toentrust together to the Holy Spirit the work of the 16th OrdinaryGeneral Assembly of the Synod of the Catholic Church.

Held in St Peter’s Square, this ecumenical vigil of prayer will be presided by Pope Francis, in the presence of the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, and many other Church leaders, as well as thousands of Christians from different denominations.
 
The vigil of prayer will give an opportunity to entrust to the Holy Spirit the work of the 16th General Assembly of the Synod of the Catholic Church.

The vigil of prayer will be preceded – from 5 to 6 pm – by a celebration of gratitude centered on four gifts: gratitude for the gift of unity and for the synodal journey, for the gift of the other, for the gift of peace and for the gift of the Creation. The vigil itself, starting at 6 p.m., will include listening to the Word of God, praise and intercession, Taizé songs and silence – a strong sign of fraternity, unity and peace.

Whilst the Churches are celebrating the Season of Creation, St Peter’s Square will also become “like a garden”, being filled with grown trees and flowers, thanks to the contribution of Confagricoltura and with thousands of cyclamens, thanks to the contribution of the Dutch broadcasting company “KRO-NCRV.”
 
The programme leading up to the prayer and the ecumenical vigil will be transmitted live by Vatican Media via their YouTube channel, with translation into eight different languages.

Praying Around the World Together
In the same spirit, common prayers are being organized across the world on or around the 30th September. Over 200 have been planned so far, with Christians from different Churches sharing prayer and reflection together in their own countries.

Genesis of the Gathering of the People of God
The project was born in October 2021, when Brother Alois, Prior of Taizé, was invited to speak at the opening of the Synodal process of the Catholic Church. He said on this occasion: “Through baptism we are brothers and sisters in Christ, united in a communion that is still imperfect but real, even when theological questions remain unanswered. Such a gathering, here in Rome and at the same time elsewhere in the world, would have at its heart a simple celebration of listening to the Word of God, with a long moment of silence and intercession for peace.”


The preparation of the vigil was a real exercise in synodality, with the desire from the beginning to involve many ecclesial partners: over fifty from several denominational origins working together in close collaboration with the Secretariat of the Synod of Rome, the Dicastery for the Promotion of Christian Unity, the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life and the Vicariate of Rome. The full list of partners involved is available 

via the event website.
  
Reactions 
His All-Holiness Patriarch Bartholomew recorded a video message in which he says: “I am grateful to address these few words, to the Orthodox youth and to all people of good will, who are planning to join the gathering of the People of God in Rome and in many other places throughout the world. With great joy I have accepted this invitation by my beloved brother, His Holiness Pope Francis, to take part in the ecumenical vigil of prayer, which will occur on September 30th.”
 
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Most Revd Justin Welby, who will be present as well, said of “Together”: “We shouldn’t underestimate the impact we can have as Christians on the rest of the world because it’s an impact empowered by the Holy Spirit. As a visible sign of unity, this ecumenical prayer vigil is an opportunity for all of us to come together and inspire change. I hope that ‘Together, Gathering the People of God’ will be an inspiring experience for all involved.”
 
The General Secretary of the Lutheran World Federation, Rev Anne Burghardt, said in an interview: “I would like to express my deep joy about this initiative, because initiatives such as this one, bringing together young people from across the world in order to bring them into conversation with each other are just marvelLous when it comes to bringing Christian unity forward.”
 
For more information

  • Official event website: 
  • www.together2023.net
  • Facebook / Instagram: @30Sept2023 | #Together2023 
  • Twitter: @Together2023

Similar Posts

Join the Discussion

Keep the following in mind when writing a comment

  • Your comment must include your full name, and email. (email will not be published). You may be contacted by email, and it is possible you might be requested to supply your postal address to verify your identity.
  • Be respectful. Do not attack the writer. Take on the idea, not the messenger. Comments containing vulgarities, personalised insults, slanders or accusations shall be deleted.
  • Keep to the point. Deliberate digressions don't aid the discussion.
  • Including multiple links or coding in your comment will increase the chances of it being automati cally marked as spam.
  • Posts that are merely links to other sites or lengthy quotes may not be published.
  • Brevity. Like homilies keep you comments as short as possible; continued repetitions of a point over various threads will not be published.
  • The decision to publish or not publish a comment is made by the site editor. It will not be possible to reply individually to those whose comments are not published.