During the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, bishops from the Anglican and Roman Catholic traditions will come together for Growing Together, a week-long ecumenical debate summit and pilgrimage to be held in Rome and Canterbury between 22 and 30 May. January 29, 2024.

Representing the world

The bishops will attend in pairs – Anglicans and Catholics – representing different countries of the world. More than 50 bishops from 27 countries will participate. Visiting the holy sites of Rome and Canterbury, the bishops will pray, reflect and learn from each other. The goal is to discuss ways to grow together in testimony and mission in the world.

Significant moment

On January 25, at the tomb of the Apostle Paul, Pope Francis and the Archbishop of Canterbury will commission the bishops, sending them two by two, to be witnesses of Christian unity. It will be a significant and symbolic moment for Anglican-Catholic ties and for the advancement of ecumenical dialogue, says a note from IARCCUM, the International Anglican-Catholic Commission for Unity and Mission, created to support ecumenical dialogue between traditions, which organizes the event.

The program

In addition to the event on January 25, the Roman stage of the pilgrimage also includes, on the 25th, a sung Anglican Eucharist presided over by the Archbishop of Canterbury in the church of Saint Bartholomew. Two days before, on the 23rd, the Basilica of Saint Peter will be visited, while on the 26th the church of Saint Gregory of Caelius will be visited, from where the first Archbishop of Canterbury, sent to England by Pope Gregory the Great, left in 597.

In Canterbury on January 28, the bishops will take part in the Choral Eucharist at Canterbury Cathedral, where the Catholic Bishop of Hong Kong, Cardinal Stephen Chow, will deliver a sermon.