Concluding Vespers of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (Saint Paul Outside the Walls)

An ecumenical appointment in the heart of Rome

The Concluding Vespers of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity represent one of the most significant spiritual moments in the Roman liturgical calendar. Every year on January 25th, the Solemnity of the Conversion of Saint Paul the Apostle, the Papal Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls in Rome, Lazio, hosts the celebration of Second Vespers presided over by the Holy Father. It is the act that solemnly closes the octave of prayer begun on January 18th, eight days during which Christian communities around the world pray together for the full visible unity of believers.

The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is a global ecumenical initiative promoted by the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity together with the World Council of Churches. Each edition revolves around a biblical theme chosen and materials prepared by the Churches of a different country. The celebration of Vespers at Saint Paul Outside the Walls, with the presence of the Bishop of Rome, constitutes its culmination and most visible sign on a universal level.

A liturgy of communion between Churches

The celebration brings together the Cardinal heading the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, members and consultants of the Dicastery, along with delegates and representatives of the various Christian Churches and Communions present in Rome: the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, the Anglican Communion, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, and many other denominations. Students from the Ecumenical Institute of Bossey and young people supported by the Committee for Cultural Collaboration with the Orthodox Churches also take part in the liturgy. The chanting of psalms, the listening to the Word, and the Pope's homily make these Vespers a moment of intense shared prayer.

The Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls

The choice of location is not accidental. The Papal Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls, erected on the burial site of the Apostle to the Gentiles, is one of the four papal basilicas of Rome and houses the tomb of Saint Paul. The Solemnity of the Conversion of the Apostle, which ideally concludes the Week on January 25th, recalls the figure of the man who dedicated his life to proclaiming the Gospel to all peoples, making him the natural symbol of the journey toward unity.

The 59th edition in 2026

In 2026, the event reached its fifty-ninth edition. The Second Vespers were presided over by Pope Leo XIV on the afternoon of January 25th, with liturgical materials prepared by the Churches in Armenia on the theme taken from the Letter to the Ephesians: «There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call» (Eph 4:4). An event open to the faithful and pilgrims, which reaffirms each year the commitment of Christian Churches to walk together.