On 30 September 2023, an ecumenical prayer vigil will take place in Rome in the presence of Pope Francis and representatives of different Churches, to unite us in praise and silence, in listening to the Word. Young people aged between 18 and 35 from across Europe, from all Church backgrounds, are invited from Friday evening to Sunday afternoon and will be welcomed for a weekend of sharing, to journey together as the people of God.
Through baptism and the Scriptures, are we not sisters and brothers in Christ, united in a communion that is still imperfect but nevertheless real? Is it not Christ who calls us and opens a way for us to go forward with him as fellow travellers, together with those who live on the margins of our societies? On this journey, in a dialogue that reconciles, we want to remember that we need each other, not so that we might be stronger together but as a contribution to peace in the human family.
In gratitude for this growing sense of communion, we can find the momentum needed to meet today’s challenges faced with the polarisations that fracture the human family and the cry of the earth. In encounter and mutual listening, let us walk together as the people of God.