The president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, Cardinal Walter Kasper, announced this week that Pope Benedict XVI will visit the Evangelical Lutheran Church located in Rome on March 14 for an ecumenical celebration.

The cardinal’s announcement was confirmed by the SIR news agency, which contacted the Pontifical Council.  Lutheran Pastor Jens-Martin Kruse was quoted as saying, “To have the Bishop of Rome among us will be a beautiful sign for ecumenism in our city.”

During the ceremony, Pope Benedict XVI will deliver a relfection on John 12:20-26 about the need for a grain of wheat to fall to the ground and die in order to bear fruit.  Pastor Kruse will then speak about the first chapter of Paul's Second Letter to the Corinthians.