Pope Leo poses with pilgrims on an ecumenical Orthodox-Catholic pilgrimage led by Cardinal Joseph Tobin (l) and Metropolitan Elpidophoros (r) (@VATICAN MEDIA)
Pope Leo XIV: Seek grace to pursue path of unity and
fraternal charity
At Castel Gandolfo, Pope Leo XIV received Greek Orthodox,
Byzantine Catholic, and Latin Catholic pilgrims from the United States who are
taking part in an ecumenical pilgrimage to Rome, Constantinople, and Nicea.
By Christopher Wells
A joint Orthodox-Catholic pilgrimage to Rome,
Constantinople, and Nicea “is one of the abundant fruits of the ecumenical
movement aimed at restoring full unity among all Christ’s disciples,” Pope Leo
XIV told participants in the pilgrimage on Thursday, as he welcomed them to the
papal summer residence at Castel Gandolfo.
The pilgrimage “From Rome to New Rome” comprises fifty Greek
Orthodox, Byzantine Catholic, and Latin Catholic pilgrims from the United
States, and is being led by the Greek Orthodox Archbishop Elpidophoros of
America and Cardinal Joseph Tobin, Archbishop of Newark, New Jersey.
In his greetings, Pope Leo noted that the pilgrimage is
intended “to return to the sources”: to Rome, where Sts Peter and Paul were
martyred; Constantinople—now Istanbul—associated with St Andrew; and to Nicea,
the site of the first Ecumenical Council 1700 years ago this year.
The Pope went on to highlight the common celebration of
Easter in 2025, observed on the same date by those who follow both the
Gregorian and Julian liturgical calendars, which allowed all Christians to
proclaim together the Easter Alleluia, “Christ is risen! He is truly risen!”
Those words, Pope Leo XIV said, proclaim the passion and
resurrection of Jesus, “the Lamb that was slain” to redeem us from “the
darkness of sin and death.” The redemption won by Christ “inspires us with
great hope” while also calling us “to be witnesses and bearers of hope,”
recalling the motto of the Jubilee Year, pilgrims of hope.
“It is my hope that your pilgrimage will confirm all of you
in the hope born of our faith in the Risen Lord!” Pope Leo said.
Looking ahead to the group’s visit to Constantinople, the
Pope asked the pilgrims to convey his greetings to the Patriarch Bartholomew,
saying he hoped to meet him again in person during the ecumenical commemoration
of the anniversary of the Council of Nicea.
The Holy Father went on to describe the group’s ecumenical
pilgrimage as one of the many signs that “already manifest the theological
progress and the dialogue of charity that mark recent decades,” especially
since the Joint Declaration of Pope Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras removing
the mutual excommunications that followed the break in relations between Rome
and Constantinople in 1054.
“For our part,” the Pope said, “we too must continue to
implore from the Paraclete, the Consoler, the grace to pursue the path of unity
and fraternal charity.” Looking ahead to the two-thousandth anniversary of the
Redemption, Pope Leo said, “Spiritually, we must all return to Jerusalem, the
City of Peace,” where the Apostles received the Holy Spirit before going on to
bear witness to Christ “to the ends of the earth.”
Pope Leo concluded his address with the prayer, “May our
return to the roots of our faith make all of us experience the gift of God’s
consolation and make us capable, like the Good Samaritan, of pouring out the
oil of consolation and the wine of gladness on today’s humanity.”
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