Bucharest, Romania, May 31, 2019 / 08:39 am
In a meeting with the Romanian Orthodox in their new cathedral in Bucharest Friday, Pope Francis prayed for the union of Christians as demonstrated in the first words of the Pater noster.
"Each time we say 'Our Father,' we state that the word Father cannot stand on its own, apart from 'Our,'" Pope Francis said May 31, in a meeting with Romanian Orthodox leaders and faithful with a common recitation of the Our Father.
He said, "united in Jesus' prayer, we are also united to his experience of love and intercession, which leads us to say: 'My Father and your Father, my God and your God.' We are invited to make my become our, and our to become a prayer."
"Help us, Father, to take our brother or sister's lives seriously, to make their history our history," he prayed. The encounter took place as part of the activities of the first day of Francis' visit to three areas of Romania May 31-June 2.