On Sunday and before the Angelus, the Pope recalled the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity and its theme, “Give me a drink”, the sentence uttered by Jesus to the Samaritan woman.

He told the faithful gathered that the “desire for unity” of the disciples of Jesus is part of our “thirst not only material for water, but above all our thirst for a full life, free from the slavery of evil and death.” He went on to say that “Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s promises because it is he who gives to the Holy Spirit, the ‘living water’ that quenches our restless hearts, hungry for life, love, freedom, peace : thirsty for God…

The Pope’s message for the 49th annual World Communications Day was published today, the vigil of the feast day of St. Francis de Sales, patron saint of journalists. The Day will be celebrated on Sunday 17 May 2015, and this year’s theme is “Communicating the family: a privileged place of encounter with the gift of love”. 

“The family is a subject of profound reflection by the Church and of a process involving two Synods: the recent extraordinary assembly and the ordinary assembly scheduled for next October…

Pope Francis told an ecumenical delegation from Finland Thursday that Catholics and Lutherans can do much together “to bear witness to God’s mercy.”  The delegation’s visit to Rome coincides with the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity and the Feast of St. Henry, the patron saint of Finland.

In his discourse to the Finnish delegates, Pope Francis applauded the progress achieved in ecumenical dialogue between the two Churches over the last thirty years and said, “a shared Christian witness is very much needed in the face of the mistrust, insecurity, persecution, pain and suffering experienced so widely in today’s world.”

Below, please find the text of Pope Francis’ discourse to the ecumenical delegation from Finland:

Dear Bishop Vikström,
Dear Bishop Sippo,
Dear Friends,

It is with joy that I welcome you, on the occasion of your annual ecumenical pilgrimage to Rome to celebrate the feast of Saint Henrik, the patron of your country…