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MEOR Director Participates in Italian Methodist Gathering – May 2026

June 1, 2026June 19, 2026meorome

The Rev. Matthew A. Laferty, director of the Methodist Ecumenical Office Rome and representative of the World Methodist Council to the Holy See, attended the annual Italian Methodist consultation, held from 29-31 May 2026 at the Methodist retreat center Ecumene in Velletri outside Rome.

Each year, clergy and laity from Methodist churches in Italy gathering May for a time of worship, fellowship, and discussion. The Evangelical Methodist Churches in Italy united with the Waldensian Evangelical Church in 1975 and now have one synod, one set of church order, and a shared identity. In the union, the Methodists were a minority and were permitted to maintain their own international and ecumenical relations as well as their own patrimony. The annual consultation does not have decision-making authority but recommends decisions to the Permanent Committee of the Evangelical Methodist Churches in Italy and the Synod of the Methodist-Waldensian Church.

The 2026 consultation received reports from the Permanent Committee of the Evangelical Methodist Churches in Italy with a particular focus on their international Methodist relations, reflected on migration in Europe and the gift of multiculturalism to the Italian Methodist churches, heard historical reflections on the development of Methodism in Italy, and commemorated the legacy of U.S. pastor and civil rights leader Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Rev. Laferty who is a member of the Synod of the Methodist-Waldensian Church in Italy commented, “the annual Methodist Consultation remains a critical instrument of the Methodist-Waldensian union by preserving and promoting Methodist identity in Italy. I am grateful for the opportunity to attend this auspicious gathering and to reconnect with Methodist pastors and lay persons from across Italy.”

Chicago Methodist Pilgrims Visit MEOR – May 2026

May 28, 2026meorome

A group of pilgrims from First United Methodist Church at the Chicago Temple in Chicago, IL, USA, visited the Methodist Ecumenical Office Rome on 27 May 2026 during their pilgrimage in Rome. The group of 12 pilgrims are in Rome exploring the intersection of church history and Christian theology, sacred spaces, and art.

The Rev. Matthew A. Laferty, director of the Methodist Ecumenical Office Rome and representative of the World Methodist Council to the Holy See (Vatican), met the pilgrims at Ponte Sant’Angelo Methodist Church near the Vatican, where he shared about MEOR’s mission, Methodist-Catholic relations, and ecumenism in Rome. The Chicago group took particular interest in the Bishop of Rome, a native of Chicago.

British Methodist-Catholic Dialogue Meeting in May 2026

May 20, 2026May 20, 2026meorome

The national British Methodist-Catholic Dialogue Commission met from 18-19 May 2026 at Barnes Close near Birmingham, UK, for its biannual meeting. During the residential meeting, the commission reflected on baptismal identity and on the recently published document from the international Methodist-Catholic dialogue “We Believe in One God: Sixty Years of Methodists and Catholics Walking Together.” The commission is crafting plans to develop catechetical resources for use in local congregations in Britain.

The commission is a joint initiative of the Methodist Church in Great Britain and the Catholic Bishops Conference of Scotland & the Catholic Bishops Conference of England and Wales, co-chaired by the Rev. Ruth Gee, past president of the Conference of the Methodist Church, and the Rt. Rev. David Evans, Auxiliary Bishop of Birmingham.

The Rev. Matthew A. Laferty, director of the Methodist Ecumenical Office Rome, is a member of the national commission since 2020.

Photo: The British national Methodist-Catholic commission following their May 2026 meeting.

MEOR Director Visits Oklahoma Methodist, USCCB President – May 2026

May 16, 2026May 20, 2026meorome

During a recent trip to Oklahoma (USA), the Rev. Matthew A. Laferty, director of the Methodist Ecumenical Office Rome and representative of the World Methodist Council to the Holy See, visited Oklahoma Methodist leaders and the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

On Tuesday, 12 May 2026, Rev. Laferty visited the headquarters of the Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference of The United Methodist Church in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA, where he met with Rev. Margaret Johnson, assistant to Bishop Laura Merrill, and Rev. Donna Pewo, OIMC director of connectional ministries. They discussed OIMC’s history, the ministries of the Conference, and Native American spirituality.

First established in 1844, OIMC encompasses 79 predominately indigenous/Native American United Methodist congregations in Oklahoma, Texas, and Kansas.

Director Laferty was accompanied by Mr. Caleb Siems who is an enrolled member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma.

Front row: Rev. Donna Pewo and Rev. Margaret Johnson, second row: Mr. Caleb Siems and Rev. Laferty

Rev. Laferty also met the Most Rev. Paul Coakley, Catholic Archbishop of Oklahoma City and president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, at his office in Oklahoma City on 15 May 2026 to discuss MEOR’s ministry, Methodist-Catholic relations, and the Catholic Church in the United States.

Archbishop Paul Coakley and Rev. Matthew A. Laferty

Visit of the Archbishop of Canterbury – April 2026

April 29, 2026May 5, 2026meorome

The Rev. Matthew A. Laferty, director of the Methodist Ecumenical Office Rome and representative of the World Methodist Council to the Holy See, shared several moments of prayer and fellowship with the Most Revd and the Rt Hon Dame Sarah Mullally, the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury, during her recent visit to Rome and to the Vatican from 25-28 April 2026.

Rev. Laferty joined Archbishop Sarah as she presided at Eucharist at All Saints’ Anglican Church (Church of England) in Rome, preached at Choral Evensong at St. Paul’s Within the Walls Episcopal Church in Rome, and installed Bishop Anthony Ball as her representative to the Holy See.

Photo by P. Cheney/ACR