Pope and Anglican head celebrate Vespers

(March 12, 2012) Pope Benedict XVI presided over an ecumenical Vespers service in a Rome church on Saturday with the spiritual head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, Archbishop Rowan Williams of Canterbury, saying he hopes their presence together will spur both Catholics and Anglicans to pray and work for unity. The occasion was to mark 1000th anniversary of the Camaldolese Congregation of the Order of St. Benedict. A Camaldolese community of which has been based at the Church of St. Gregory the Great in Rome since the mid 16^th century where Saturday’s Verspers was celebrated. It was from this church that the 6^th century Pope St. Gregory the Great sent out 40 monks to convert the English. The monks included the man who became St Augustine, the first Archbishop of Canterbury. But in the 16^th century, the church in England under King Henry VIII broke away from the Catholic Church and became the known as the Church of England or Anglicans. At Saturday’s Vespers, both Pope Benedict and Archbishop Williams delivered homilies. “It is good to touch the soil on which you are nurtured,” Archbishop Williams said, explaining why three successive archbishops of Canterbury have come to St. Gregory’s Church of Rome. Pope Benedict noted that the millennium celebration is marked by a profoundly ecumenical character, which is part and parcel of the spirit of the Camaldoli community living there since the mid 16th century. The Pope hoped that that celebration of Vespers will act as a stimulus for both Catholics and Anglicans, encouraging them to renew their commitment and pray for the unity that Jesus himself asked of His Father.
(March 12, 2012) Pope Benedict XVI presided over an ecumenical Vespers service in a Rome church on Saturday with the spiritual head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, Archbishop Rowan Williams of Canterbury, saying he hopes their presence together will spur both Catholics and Anglicans to pray and work for unity. The occasion was to mark 1000th anniversary of the Camaldolese Congregation of the Order of St. Benedict. A Camaldolese community of which has been based at the Church of St. Gregory the Great in Rome since the mid 16^th century where Saturday’s Verspers was celebrated. It was from this church that the 6^th century Pope St. Gregory the Great sent out 40 monks to convert the English. The monks included the man who became St Augustine, the first Archbishop of Canterbury. But in the 16^th century, the church in England under King Henry VIII broke away from the Catholic Church and became the known as the Church of England or Anglicans. At Saturday’s Vespers, both Pope Benedict and Archbishop Williams delivered homilies. “It is good to touch the soil on which you are nurtured,” Archbishop Williams said, explaining why three successive archbishops of Canterbury have come to St. Gregory’s Church of Rome. Pope Benedict noted that the millennium celebration is marked by a profoundly ecumenical character, which is part and parcel of the spirit of the Camaldoli community living there since the mid 16th century. The Pope hoped that that celebration of Vespers will act as a stimulus for both Catholics and Anglicans, encouraging them to renew their commitment and pray for the unity that Jesus himself asked of His Father