A Statement from the Director of the Anglican Centre in Rome and the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Representative to the Holy See

9 May 2025 • Persistent link: iarccum.org/?p=5168

A Statement from the Director of the Anglican Centre in Rome and the Archbishop of Canterbury's Representative to the Holy See (9 May 2025). Photo: Anglican Centre in Rome

Together with our Roman Catholic siblings and other Christians in Rome and around the world, Anglicans enthusiastically, welcome the ‘gaudium magnum’ announced yesterday from the balcony of St Peter’s Basilica: the election of His Holiness Pope Leo XIV as the 267th Bishop of Rome.

We offer our heartfelt prayers and support as the new Holy Father begins his singular Petrine ministry in service of the global Church, particularly in this age of war, poverty, mass migration, division and distrust, in which those who suffer most are the innocent and most vulnerable among us. We are encouraged by the first words of his papacy: ‘La pace sia con tutti voi! [Peace be with you all!] This is the peace of the Risen Christ: a disarmed and disarming peace, a humble and preserving peace. It comes from God – God, who loves all of us, without any limits or conditions.’

Giving thanks for his wide international pastoral experience and dedication to social justice, we are grateful for Pope Leo’s call! for a Church of bridgebuilders. Such a vision has motivated the mission and ministry of the Anglican Centre in Rome for nearly 60 years. This call serves to renew our commitment to our long-standing and friendly collaboration with the Catholic Church, building bridges through ecumenical dialogue towards that full, visible unity to which Christ calls us.

As we begin this new chapter in our ecumenical mission in Rome, I am excited for the journey ahead, embracing and affirming the words of Pope Leo XIV: ‘Therefore, without fear, united, hand in hand with God and with one another, let us go forward!’

Bishop Anthony Ball
9th May, 2025