The International Old Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Union of Utrecht will be received by the Bishop of Rome, Pope Francis, in Private Audience on 30 October. Preceding the Audience, there will be talks with Cardinal Kurt Koch and staff from the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.
Dr. Joris Vercammen, Archbishop of Utrecht and president of the International Bishops’ Conference combines the visit to the Vatican with other engagements in Rome. On Monday 27th October, Fr. James Puglisi, SA, Director of the Centro Pro Unione, will host the Archbishop for a public lecture at 6.00 p.m. followed by a reception. Theme of this talk is: ‘A Challenging Relationship – The International Roman-Catholic – Old-Catholic Dialogue’s Contribution to Ecumenism. (See also http://www.prounione.urbe.it/new/eng/index.html). The Centro Pro Unione, run by Franciscan Friars, is an important ecumenical venue. It is the place where the ecumenical discussions took place during Vatican II. The Council’s ecumenical observers regularly met with a number of Bishops attending the Council, along with some journalists.
On Tuesday 28th October at 6.30 p.m., the Oratory of San Francesco Saverio del Caravita, home to the Caravita Community, an international English-language Catholic community, will host an Ecumenical Evensong with the participation of the wider ecumenical community in Rome. On this Feast day of Simon and Jude, Apostles, Archbishop Joris will preach, and the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Representative to the Holy See and Director of the Anglican Centre Rome, Archbishop David Moxon, will officiate. A reception will follow the service.