Pope Leo spoke about Christian Unity at the close of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity today, January 25th:  

My dear friends, every year the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity invites us to renew our commitment to this great mission, bearing in mind that the divisions among us – while they do not prevent the light of Christ from shining – nonetheless make the face which must reflect it to the world less radiant.

Last year, we celebrated the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea.  His Holiness Bartholomew, Ecumenical Patriarch, invited us to celebrate the anniversary in İznik, and I give thanks to God that so many Christian traditions were represented at that commemoration two months ago. 

 Reciting the Nicene Creed together in the very place where it was formulated was a profound and unforgettable testimony to our unity in Christ.  That moment of fraternity also allowed us to praise the Lord for what he accomplished through the Nicene Fathers, helping them to express clearly the truth of a God who drew near to us in Jesus Christ.  May the Holy Spirit find in us docile minds even today, so that we may proclaim the faith with one voice to the men and women of our time!

In the passage from the Letter to the Ephesians chosen as the theme for this year’s Week of Prayer, we repeatedly hear the adjective“one”: one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God (cf. Eph 4:4-6). How can these inspired words not touch us deeply?  How can our hearts not burn within us when we hear them? 

 Yes, “we share the same faith in the one and only God, the Father of all people; we confess together the one Lord and true Son of God, Jesus Christ, and the one Holy Spirit, who inspires us and impels us towards full unity and the common witness to the Gospel” (Apostolic Letter In Unitate Fidei, 23 November 2025, 12).  We are one!  We already are!  Let us recognize it, experience it and make it visible!

As we look toward the 2,000th anniversary of the Passion, Death and Resurrection of the Lord Jesus in 2033, let us commit ourselves to further developing ecumenical synodal practices and to sharing with one another who we are, what we do and what we teach.