VATICAN - Abbey of St Paul’s outside the Walls organises Celebrations for annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, major closing event Ecumenical Vespers presided by Pope Benedict XVI

Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - The service to further Christian unity offered by the Benedictines monks at the Abbey of St Paul’s outside the Walls in Rome is a response to the special ecumenical mandate entrusted to the community by Pope Benedict XVI. An important annual event in this endeavour is the annual Week of Prayer for Christian celebrated by Christians all over the world from 18 to 25 January. On this occasion this Benedictine community has invited local Orthodox, Lutheran and Anglican communities as well as various Catholic communities for a series liturgies focussing on this year’s theme for world wide reflection: “He makes the deaf to hear and the dumb to speak! (Mk 7,37).
The Week’s programme is as follows: 18 January 5.30 Vespers followed by Mass animated by the Comboni Missionaries; 19 January 6pm Rumanian Orthodox Vespers celebrated by Rev. Gheorghe Militaru and the Rumanian Orthodox community from Ostia; 20 January 5.30 Vespers and Mass animated by the Pauline missionaries; 21 January 5.30 Vespers and Mass with priests and women religious Sons and Daughters of the Our Lady of Divine Love; 22 January 6pm Evensong led by Rev. p. Jonathan Boardman and the Anglican parish of All Saints in Rome; 23 January 6pm Lutheran Evening Prayer led by Pastor Matthias Fricke-Zieseniß and the Lutheran community in Rome; 24 January 5pm First Vespers of the Feast of the Conversion of St Paul presided by the Abbot of St Paul’s outside the Walls Fr. Edmund Power, OSB; January 25 10.30 solemn sung Mass presided by the Abbot and 5.30 Ecumenical Vespers presided by Pope Benedict XVI to conclude the 2007 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. (S.L.) (Agenzia Fides 15/1/2007, righe 20, parole 305)