WCC news: WCC leadership will meet Pope Leo XIV

A World Council of Churches (WCC) delegation—including WCC moderator of the central committee Bishop Prof. Dr Heinrich Bedford-Strohm; H.E. Archbishop Dr Vicken Aykazian, vice moderator of the WCC central committee; Rev. Merlyn Hyde Riley, vice moderator of the WCC central committee; and WCC general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay—will meet with Pope Leo XIV on 28 February in the Vatican. Photo: Marcelo Schneider/WCC The meeting is expected to further strengthen the longstanding collaboration between the WCC and the Roman Catholic Church. In 2025, The Joint Working Group (JWG) between the World Council of Churches and the Roman Catholic Church, through the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, celebrated its 60th anniversary. This milestone provided an opportunity to reflect on its working methodologies, achievements, and reception. The meeting will also reflect on current global challenges and ways in which we can strengthen ecumenical collaboration in addressing these. The WCC delegation will also be received for a special lunch with the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity and will visit the Laudato Si’ Centre in Castel Gandolfo, among other things.  Learn more about the Joint Working Group with the Roman Catholic Church Body text See more

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 356 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 580 million Christians in over 120 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay from the Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa. Media contact: +41 79 507 6363; www.oikoumene.org/press Our visiting address is: World Council of Churches Chemin du Pommier 42 Kyoto Building Le Grand-Saconnex CH-1218 Switzerland