San Gregorio al Celio in Rome is the church from where Pope Gregory the Great sent St Augustine to England in 597, to be the first Archbishop of Canterbury.

Yesterday, the ‘Growing Together’ summit travelled from Rome to Canterbury. Co-Chair of IARCCUM, is the Archbishop Donald Bolen, the Catholic Archbishop of Regina, Saskatchewan. Standing on the steps of San Gregorio, he shared his reflections on the significance of this meeting of Catholic and Anglican bishops.

This week’s “Growing Together” summit has seen pairs of Anglican and Catholic bishops gather for a series of ecumenical discussions and visits to holy sites in Rome, that have significance to the common roots shared by both traditions.

Today, before the summit moves to Canterbury for the second phase of the programme, the bishops gathered to pray at the Church of San Gregorio al Celio during their last day in Rome. It was a fitting location, as San Gregorio al Celio is the church from where St Augustine was sent to England by Pope Gregory the Great in 597, to be the first Archbishop of Canterbury.

During the service, Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury and Bishop Anthony Poggo, the Secretary General of the Anglican Communion, along with Archbishop Donald Bolen and Bishop David Hamid (Co-Chairs of IARCCUM) stood at the Chair of Gregory the Great.

This week’s “Growing Together” summit has seen pairs of Anglican and Catholic bishops gather for a series of ecumenical discussions and visits to holy sites in Rome, that have significance to the common roots shared by both traditions.

Today, before the summit moves to Canterbury for the second phase of the programme, the bishops gathered to pray at the Church of San Gregorio al Celio during their last day in Rome. It was a fitting location, as San Gregorio al Celio is the church from where St Augustine was sent to England by Pope Gregory the Great in 597, to be the first Archbishop of Canterbury.

During the service, Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury and Bishop Anthony Poggo, the Secretary General of the Anglican Communion, along with Archbishop Donald Bolen and Bishop David Hamid (Co-Chairs of IARCCUM) stood at the Chair of Gregory the Great.

Divided Christians will draw closer to one another only by loving God and loving their neighbours, serving one another and not pointing fingers in blame for past faults, Pope Francis said.

Closing the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity with an evening prayer service Jan. 25 at Rome’s Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, Francis was joined by Anglican Archbishop Justin Welby of Canterbury and, at the end of the service, the two commissioned pairs of Anglican and Catholic bishops from 27 countries to “bear witness together to the hope that does not deceive and to the unity for which our Savior prayed.”

Members of the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches, who were meeting in Rome, also participated along with representatives of Orthodox, Protestant and Anglican communities in Italy.

In his homily, Francis reflected on the theme for the 2024 celebration of the week of prayer: “You shall love the Lord your God … and your neighbour as yourself” from Luke 10:27.

The passage comes from a Gospel story in which a scholar of the law asks Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life. After Jesus affirms the need to love God and one’s neighbour, the scholar asks, “And who is my neighbour?”

Watch highlights from the final full day in Rome of the “Growing Together” ecumenical summit as Pope Francis, the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby and Anglican and Catholic bishops from across the world joined together for Vespers in the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls.

#Anglican #Catholic #IARCCUM #GrowingTogether

Today, Pope Francis and the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, commissioned pairs of Anglican and Roman Catholic bishops from across the world at Vespers (Evening Prayer) at the Basilica of St Paul’s Outside the Walls in Rome. Marking the end of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, the ecumenical congregation drawn from various Christian traditions, prayed for the unity of the Church.

The bishop pairs are currently attending ‘Growing Together,’ a weeklong programme of ecumenical dialogue and pilgrimage, taking place in Rome and Canterbury. It is organised by the International Anglican-Roman Catholic Commission for Unity and Mission (IARCCUM), supported by the Anglican Communion Office and the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity.

The Pope and the Archbishop commissioned the bishops to engage in joint mission and witness and to promote reception of the agreements already reached in theological dialogues between the two traditions. The location of the commissioning is significant, as it marks the place where the apostle Paul was buried after his martyrdom in Rome.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, preached today at Anglican Eucharist held at San Bartolomeo all’Isola on Tiber Island (Sanctuary of the New Martyrs), a ninth-century Basilica in Rome.

The Anglican Eucharist at 11:45 was attended by Catholic and Anglican bishops from across the globe who are currently in Rome for the ecumenical summit Growing Together, organised by IARCCUM, the International Anglican-Roman Catholic Commission for Unity and Mission.

Later in the day, the Archbishop of Canterbury is due to take part in Vespers at 17:30, at the Basilica of St Paul Outside the Walls, where Pope Francis and the Archbishop will commission the bishops for their joint witness and mission.

This morning’s Eucharist at San Bartolomeo was one of the pilgrimages the bishops taking part in “Growing Together” have made this week. In 2000, the Basilica of San Bartolomeo all’Isola was dedicated by Pope John Paul ll to the memory of new martyrs of the 20th Century.

Come, Holy Spirit, and set our hearts on fire with the flames of your love. Amen.

It is wonderful to see this meeting of IARCCUM (the International Anglican-Roman Catholic Commission for Unity and Mission), this gathering of God’s people from around the world. Many in places of immense suffering and difficulty, persecuted, hunted, and yet here you are.

I come to you today, and I wonder what you were thinking about in the readings when often our thoughts may wander a little bit, I was thinking, in this place, I am the least among you. For I come with the responsibilities of living amongst the troubles that Anglicanism has suffered the last few years, and being conscious that to you I must be as one who serves.

I come as the least. And so, what I will say today, is in that Benedictine tradition, in the rule of Saint Benedict, that when there are things to be decided, that the abbot, so called, should listen, to all, to the least, to the newest, to the youngest. And I come, as with all of us, a sinner, conscious of the judgment I will face.

Today, Anglican & Catholic bishops at the ecumenical summit ‘Growing Together’ have talked about the vital role of synodality in the church. How the people of God journey together, listen to one another & discern how God is speaking. They have discussed themes of justice, peace & reconciliation as they explore their joint mission and witness in the world.

#Anglican #Catholic #IARCCUM #GrowingTogether #Synodality

Watch highlights from the Anglican Choral Evensong at St Peter’s Basilica in Rome. The service was part of ‘Growing Together’, an ecumenical summit between Anglican and Catholic bishops. The summit is meeting during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.

#Anglican #Catholic #IARCCUM #GrowingTogether

Pairs of Anglican and Catholic bishops from across the world have made a pilgrimage to St Peter’s Basilica today as part of a weeklong ecumenical summit called Growing Together, run by IARCCUM (International Anglican-Roman Catholic Commission for Unity and Mission). It aims to strengthen bonds of friendship between Anglicans and Roman Catholics as they explore their joint witness and mission.

On the evening of January 23, set within the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, the bishops participated in Anglican Choral Evensong in the Choir Chapel of St Peter’s. This was an important occasion in ecumenical relations. Traditional Anglican Evensong was celebrated previously in St Peter’s in 2017.

As one of the most important Christian places of pilgrimage, St Peter’s is believed to have been built over the burial site of the Apostle Peter, the head of the twelve Apostles of Jesus and, according to tradition, the first Bishop of Antioch and later the first Bishop of Rome, thus the first Pope.

Today, during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, bishops from the Anglican and Roman Catholic traditions are gathering for Growing Together – a week-long summit for ecumenical discussion and pilgrimage in Rome and Canterbury between 22 and 29 January 2024 (arrivals day 22).   

The Summit is organised by IARCCUM, the International Anglican-Roman Catholic Commission for Unity and Mission. IARCCUM is an official commission of the Anglican Communion and the Catholic Church. It is established to deepen the relationship between Anglicans and Catholics, based on the significant degree of theological agreement that has been reached over the years of dialogue and to promote shared mission. It is supported by the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity in Rome and the Anglican Communion Office, Secretariat to the Anglican Communion. 

The aim of this week’s summit is to strengthen bonds of friendship and commitment between Anglicans and Catholics for joint witness and mission in a fragmented world.  The bishops are attending in Anglican and Catholic pairs. They will work towards a joint statement outlining how they will seek to walk together in mission and witness when they return home and particularly how they will encourage their colleagues to unite in greater collaboration between Anglicans and Catholics. 

Pope Francis and the Archbishop of Canterbury will jointly commission bishops from the Anglican and Catholic traditions for a shared mission and witness during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.

This event is part of the Growing Together summit, taking place during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity from January 22 to 29 in Rome and Canterbury. The summit during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, an international Christian ecumenical observance, will bring together over 50 bishops from Anglican and Catholic traditions, representing 27 countries. The bishops will visit holy sites, engage in ecumenical discussions, and reflect on ways to grow together in joint witness and mission globally.

The commissioning ceremony near the tomb of the Apostle Paul will be a significant moment symbolizing the bonds between Anglicans and Catholics and promoting further ecumenical dialogue. Pope Francis and the Archbishop of Canterbury will commission the bishops, sending them out in pairs, to be witnesses to Christian Unity.

The bishops will also explore St. Peter’s Basilica with a guided tour and attend an Anglican Choral Evensong service; visit the Church of San Bartolomeo, where the Archbishop of Canterbury will lead and preach at a sung Anglican Eucharist; visit the Church of San Gregorio al Celio, the place from where the first Archbishop of Canterbury was sent to England by Pope Gregory the Great in 597.

In Rome on January 25, Pope Francis and Anglican Archbishop Justin Welby of Canterbury will come together for vespers, marking the conclusion of the week of prayer as well as celebrating the strong sense of fraternal charity among bishops from their respective churches.

The summit is organized by IARCCUM, the International Anglican-Roman Catholic Commission for Unity and Mission, dedicated to fostering ecumenical dialogue between the two traditions.

Anglican and Catholic bishops to meet in Rome and Canterbury for the ecumenical summit “Growing Together” – during Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (January 22-29, 2024).
Pope Francis and the Archbishop of Canterbury will commission bishops for joint mission and witness (January 25).

Meeting during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, bishops from the Anglican and Roman Catholic traditions will be gathering for Growing Together – a week-long summit for ecumenical discussion and pilgrimage in Rome and Canterbury between 22 and 29 January 2024. The bishops will come in pairs – Anglican and Catholic – representing different countries from around the world. Over 50 bishops are participating, from 27 countries. Visiting holy sites in both Rome and Canterbury, the bishops will pray, reflect and learn from one another. The aim is to discuss ways of growing together in joint witness and mission in the world. On January 25, near the tomb of the Apostle Paul, Pope Francis and the Archbishop of Canterbury will commission the bishops, sending them out in pairs, to be witnesses to Christian Unity. This will be a significant moment, symbolic for Anglican-Catholic bonds and advancing ecumenical dialogue.

The Summit is organised by IARCCUM – the International Anglican-Roman Catholic Commission for Unity and Mission. IARCCUM is an official commission of the Anglican Communion and the Catholic Church, established to promote ecumenical dialogue between the traditions.

This year the theme of the week of prayer for Christian Unity is “go and do likewise” words chosen of course from the beautiful parable of the Good Samaritan.

And he’s never afraid to go back to fundamentals, so he goes back to what is still the daily prayer of Jews around the world “the Shema.”

And we did say in our Patrick’s Day message a few years ago as church leaders that we’ve often become a slave to the Past.

Hello everyone, Archbishop Eamon Martin here along with Archbishop John McDowell in Armagh and we’ve just decided to have a conversation together about the week of prayer for Christian Unity which takes place every year from the 18th to the 25th of January. And we were just reflecting there that this year the theme of the week of prayer for Christian Unity is “go and do likewise,” words chosen of course from the beautiful parable of the Good Samaritan. And this year, the resources have been prepared by the Christian churches in Burkina Faso. And we thought it would be a good idea, John and I here, just to have a conversation about the week of prayer for Christian unity in the context of these resources. The parable of the Good Samaritan, of course, very well known by all of us.

Sister Nathalie Becquart, XMCJ is a French Catholic religious sister and Undersecretary of the Synod of Bishops, Rome. In this lecture she will reflect on the Synod of the Catholic Church, ‘For a synodal Church: communion, participation and mission’, its themes, its potential, and its call to the whole Church.

A major leap forward in Christian unity began with an embrace, as Pope Francis recalled.

St. Paul VI and Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras I of Constantinople met, and embraced, in Jerusalem in January 1964 and the following year they lifted the mutual excommunications their churches had issued in 1054.

Pope Francis marked the anniversary during his Angelus address Jan. 6, 2024 telling a crowd in St. Peter’s Square that the two leaders had broken down “a wall of incommunicability that had kept Catholics and Orthodox apart for centuries. Let us learn from the embrace of those two great men of the church on the path to Christian unity: praying together, walking together, working together.”

The praying, walking and working will be highlighted Jan. 18-25 as Christians around the world celebrate the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.