VATICAN CITY (MEOR) – World Methodist Council president Rev. Prof. Jong Chun Park and Methodist Ecumenical Office Rome director Rev. Matthew A. Laferty joined Pope Francis and other senior church leaders alongside thousands of young people on Saturday, 30 September, for an ecumenical vigil of prayer in St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican.
The initiative came from Br. Alois, head of the Taize Community, during his address to a special assembly of Catholic bishops in October 2021; the special assembly opened a two year-long Catholic global listening project under the theme of synodality. Br. Alois stated on 9 October 2021, “would it be possible that at a certain point, in the course of the synodal process, not only [Catholic] delegates but the whole people of God, not only Catholics but believers from the various Churches, could be invited to a large ecumenical gathering? For in baptism and by the Holy Scriptures, we are sisters and brothers in Christ, united in a communion that is still imperfect but quite real, even when there are theological questions still to be resolved” (read full speech here).
Responding to Br. Alois’ question, Pope Francis asked the brothers of the Taize Community to organize an ecumenical vigil of prayer before the opening of the Catholic bishops’ synod in October 2023 as a sign of all the baptized walking together toward unity in Christ. The Taize brothers worked in close partnership with 60 world communions, church movements, and Christian organizations, including the Methodist Ecumenical Office Rome, to organize the event and the weekend program. Director Laferty served as a member of the event’s organizing committee. MEOR provided office space for the event headquarters as well as accommodation for event staff.
A companion weekend program called “Together” was also organized for young people ages 18-35 to reflect on relevant themes facing church and society. The Together weekend included a series of workshops and a Christian praise and worship concert in the Basilica of St. John Lateran in Rome. Rev. Park spoke at a workshop on placing the society’s vulnerable at the center of our communities. Eli Ataf from the Methodist Church in Britain was a MC for the concert in the Cathedral of John Lateran. Over 3,500 people registered for the weekend program.
Alongside Rev. Park from the World Methodist Council and Pope Francis, other church leaders present for the prayer vigil were Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholemew I, and Lutheran World Federation general secretary Anne Burghardt, as well as leaders from Oriental Orthodox, Pentecostal, Baptist, Old Catholic, and Evangelical churches.
During the prayer vigil, music from the Taize community was sung. A special chant “Adsumus Sancte Spiritus” was composed for the vigil, based on a prayer attributed to St Isidore of Seville (c. 560 – 4 April 636) (listen to the chant here); the Isidore prayer has a long history of being used at various Councils, Synods and other meetings throughout the history of the church. Rev. Park, as head of communion, was honored to sit alongside Pope Francis during the prayer vigil. Rev. Park also offered prayers for peace in Korean language, his mother tongue, during the prayer petitions.
Director Laferty, reflecting on the prayer vigil, said, “the ecumenical vigil of prayer was a historic moment in our pursuit of the unity of the church. While it is commonplace to see leaders from different churches pray together, never before have we witnessed the diversity of church leaders representing all major strands of Christian faith pray publicly together. It was a moving, encouraging, and momentous moment.”
According the Taize brothers, 18,000 people attended the ecumenical vigil of prayer in St. Peter’s Square.
Top photo: Heads of churches offering a blessing at the end of the ecumenical vigil of prayer on 30 September . Photo by Synod.va. Used by permission.
Methodist Ecumenical Office Rome 