Vatican City, Jan 25, 2014 / 13:54 pm
Pope Francis celebrated evening prayer at the end of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity tonight, stressing the nature of ecumenism as a journey that requires perseverance.
"Christ, dear friends, cannot be divided! This conviction must sustain and encourage us to persevere with humility and trust on the way to the restoration of full visible unity among all believers in Christ," said the Pope in his homily at Vespers on Jan. 25.
"As we look with gratitude to the progress which the Lord has enabled us to make, and without ignoring the difficulties which ecumenical dialogue is presently experiencing, let us all pray that we may put on the mind of Christ and thus progress towards the unity which he wills," he urged.
Christian leaders, including representatives from the Orthodox Church and Anglican communion, as well as faithful from around the world, gathered in prayer at the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls in Rome on Saturday evening as the Bishop of Rome reflected on the journey of ecumenism traveled by his predecessors.