Archbishop’s Rome Pilgrimage Highlights Ecumenical Unity and Peace

The spiritual journey of the Archbishop of Canterbury to Rome has been marked by historic visits and significant prayers at some of the city’s most revered sites. Her itinerary included a pivotal stop at St Paul’s Within the Walls, a landmark Anglican church in Rome.

On her second day in the city, Sarah Mullally delivered a homily during an Evensong service at St Paul’s, highlighting the church’s role in fostering positive relations between Anglicans and the Catholic Church.

Prior to this service, Mullally took a moment to pray at notable religious sites including the Papal Basilica and Cathedral of St John Lateran, as well as the Papal Basilica of St Mary Major, where she prayed at the tomb of the late Pope Francis.

In her sermon, Mullally emphasized the significance of St Paul’s Within the Walls as a symbol of ecumenical progress. The church, celebrating its 150th anniversary, features bronze doors that were installed in 1966 to honor a historic meeting between Pope John XXIII and Archbishop Geoffrey Fisher.

Mullally remarked, “the very doors of this church speak of Christian unity,” and noted that this meeting was a pivotal moment for ecumenical relations.

“This relationship was deepened in 1966 by the encounter between Pope Paul VI and Archbishop Michael Ramsey, which helped give rise to the modern ecumenical dialogue,” she added.

The doors are more than mere architectural features; they symbolize a “theological statement … that unity is not merely an idea, but a calling: a calling to reconciliation, to deeper communion, and to a shared life in Christ that reaches beyond our divisions.”

Continuing the tradition of her predecessors, Mullally also had an audience with Pope Leo XIV, during which they prayed together.

During their meeting, Mullally expressed to the Pope, “I will remain united with you in prayer: prayer for peace in our world; prayer for justice; and prayer that every person may come to discover the fullness of life that God offers. We are united in prayer because we pray to the Father, through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Both leaders echoed their Easter messages, advocating for peace. Mullally, in her sermon, reiterated this call and highlighted the importance of returning to Christian love.

“And yet, we look at our world today and often we see something very different: instead of making justice and peace a priority, we see terrible violence inflicted on innocent people in conflicts across the globe,” she stated.

“In such a world, the Church cannot lose confidence in the Gospel. For the Gospel is precisely this: that life, not death, has the final word; that Christ has broken the power of violence, not by greater force, but by self-giving love.”