Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - The Congregation for Eastern Churches has announced that the Ecumenical Patriarch, His Holiness Bartholomew I, has accepted the invitation of the Pontifical Oriental Institute, on the occasion of the 90th anniversary of their foundation, and will be visiting Rome March 5-7.
According to a communique, the Pope received the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople. At the end of their meeting, the two men prayed together in the Urban VIII Chapel of the Apostolic Palace.
This is the third meeting between the Pope and the Ecumenical Patriarch. They first met when Benedict XVI visited Istanbul for the Feast of St. Andrew in November 2006.
Patriarch Bartholomew is scheduled to preside at an academic function at Rome's Pontifical Oriental Institute, following a brief time of prayer in the Papal Basilica of St. Mary Major. He will be received by Cardinal Leonardo Sandri and academic authorities, and there will be a lecture delivered from the Chair dedicated to Sir Daniel and Countess Bernardine Murphy Donohoue, entitled: “Theology, Liturgy and Silence: Fundamental Insights from the Eastern Fathers for the Modern World.” (S.L) (Agenzia Fides 6/3/2008; righe 16, parole 182)
