(28 June 08 - RV) Before joining together to pray Vespers at the tomb of St. Paul,
Pope Benedict and Bartholomew I had a noon meeting in the Vatican. It was the first
of several meetings between Pope Benedict XVI and Bartholomew I over the next two
days. Meeting privately the Ecumenical Patriarch of the Orthodox Church in the
Vatican library just hours before the scheduled opening of the Pauline Year at the
Basilica of Saint Paul’s Outside the Walls, the Pope has renewed his call for Christian
unity. The Holy Father said visits with Orthodox leaders provide the chance for
«brotherly conversations and moments of common prayer. Speaking in English, Patriarch
Bartholemew, spoke of the significance of the Pauline Year in his homeland of Turkey,
where St. Paul was born. The Pauline year is meant to foster devotion to the Saint,
and also to further study into his life and writings.