Pope Francis will visit the World Council of Churches headquarter in Geneva in June – only the third time a Pope has done so.
Roman Catholic Cardinal Kurt Koch, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, and Rev Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, general secretary of the World Council of Churches – which is this year celebrating its 70th anniversary, announced the visit – to take place on 21st June – at the Vatican last Friday.
Rev Dr Tveit said the visit was “a sign of hope for all who long for unity, peace and justice in a broken and divided world”.
“It is a sign of how Christian churches can affirm our common calling and mission to serve God together. And it is an affirmation of our shared focus on the need of our fellow human beings, and to do together what we can do together for reconciliation and unity among the churches and in the world.”
The WCC represents some 348 member churches including nearly all the Orthodox churches and Protestant denominations such as the Anglican, Lutheran, Methodist and Reformed churches, with a combined membership of about half a billion people.
