Commissioning prayer for IARCCUM Anglican and Catholic bishops 

Pope Francis and other ecumenical leaders pray at the tomb of St. Paul before an evening prayer service concluding the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity at Rome's Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls on January 25. From the left to right: Anglican Archbishop Ian Ernest, Archbishop Diego Giovanni Ravelli, Orthodox Metropolitan Polykarpos of Italy, Kurt Cardinal Koch and Anglican Archbishop Justin Welby of Canterbury. Photo: CNS/Vatican Media

Vespers on the Solemnity of the Conversion of St Paul

Pope Francis: 

Brothers and sisters,

Fourteen centuries ago, Pope Gregory the Great commissioned St. Augustine, first archbishop of Canterbury, and his companions, to set out from Rome to preach the joy of the gospel to the peoples of England. Today, with gratitude to God for our sharing in the gospel, we send you forth, beloved co-workers for the kingdom of God, so that wherever you carry out your ministry, you may together bear witness to the hope that does not deceive and the unity for which our Saviour prayed.

The Archbishop of Canterbury: 

Brothers and sisters,

God reconciled us to himself through Christ and has given us the ministry of reconciliation. As we send you forth from the tomb of the Apostle to the Nations, we call on you to make this ministry your special care. As you preach and celebrate the sacraments with God’s holy people, bear witness to the one hope of your calling. May your ministry alongside one another as Catholics and Anglicans be for the world a foretaste of the reconciling of all Christians in the unity of the one and only Church of Christ for which we pray this day.

The Pope and the Archbishop of Canterbury together:

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.