The ‘Gathering of the People of God’ is a sign of the desire to increase the visible unity of Christians ’on the way’.
Young people aged 18 to 35 from different European countries, and from all Christian traditions, were invited to come to Rome from the afternoon of Friday 29 September to the afternoon of Sunday 1 October for a weekend of sharing. At the centre of this event is an ecumenical prayer vigil on 30 September 2023, in the presence of Pope Francis and other Christian leaders including CTE President and Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby and the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholemew.
For the young people coming to the vigil, there will be a special programme throughout the weekend, organised by the ecumenical Taizé community.
Together in the world
Not everyone will be able to travel to Rome for the Together gathering. Therefore, in different parts of the world, prayer vigils, large and small, in towns and villages, will be organised on or around September 30 as a sign of communion with those gathered in Rome and to pray for the XVI General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops. Find your nearest vigil or register your gathering.
A prayer from Churches Together in England
Dear Lord
You prayed in John 17 that “we all might be one as I and the Father are one”. Thank you for the opportunity to gather as Christians in Rome from different churches, from all over the globe. We gather to celebrate our unity in diversity. As we pursue unity help us to walk together contending for a faith that values both grace and truth. Where we disagree, may we disagree well. And on the issues that matter – the good news of Jesus Christ; the dignity and sacredness of each human life, social action, social justice, climate justice, racial justice, may we speak with one voice. So the world will know that you love each one of us and died for us all, through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.