The 2025 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity in the Archdiocese of Vancouver arrives with two special emphases: the Year of Jubilee and the Canadian bishops’ new strategic plan to strengthen ecumenical and interfaith initiatives across the country.
This year’s observance of the week of prayer in Vancouver, which takes place from Jan. 18 to 25, will include ecumenical prayer services across the city providing opportunities for Catholics and other Christian denominations to unite in faith and prayer. They will be held at various locations, including St. Anthony’s in West Vancouver, St. Ann’s in Abbotsford, and St. Joseph the Worker in Richmond.
The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is an annual ecumenical celebration when Christians around the world are invited to pray for the unity of all Christians, reflect on Scripture together, participate in jointly organized ecumenical services, and share fellowship. It is traditionally held every year between Jan. 18 (the Feast of the Confession of Saint Peter) and Jan. 25 (the Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul).
The week of prayer dates back to the 19th century when Pope Leo XIII encouraged the practice of a Prayer Octave for Unity. The Vatican and the World Council of Churches came together in 1966 to jointly prepare prayer materials for what has become an annual event. During the week, Catholic, Orthodox, Lutheran, Baptist, Pentecostal, and other Protestant denominations are invited to pray in a particular way for unity among Christians.
For this year, 2025, the prayers and reflections for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity were prepared by the community of Bose, an ecumenical monastery of brothers and sisters in northern Italy, and by the International Week of Prayer for Christian Unity Writing Team. The theme chosen is “Do you believe this?” (Jn. 11:26).
This year marks the 1,700th anniversary of the first Christian Ecumenical Council, held in Nicaea, near Constantinople, in 325 AD.
The World Council of Churches said the week is “a unique opportunity to reflect on and celebrate the common faith of Christians, as expressed in the Creed formulated during this Council, a faith that remains alive and fruitful in our time. The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2025 offers an invitation to draw on this shared heritage and to enter more deeply into the faith that unites all Christians.”
This year’s celebrations come following the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops’ unveiling of a new vision for encourage unity among Christians, building on dialogue and collaboration between the Catholic Church and other Christian traditions.
Last June, the bishops’ National Commission for Christian Unity held a Religious Relations with the Jews and Interfaith Dialogue, chaired by Regina Archbishop Donald Bolen, and developed a plan to bolster ecumenical structures within the Canadian Catholic community.
Archbishop Bolen said that inspiring the lay faithful, particularly congregants who are skeptical or indifferent to such pursuits, should be accomplished by informing them that “ecumenical enterprise is not the Church’s idea; it’s the Father’s idea.”
“It comes out of Jesus’ prayer for all his disciples to be one,” said Archbishop Bolen. “We are deeply committed to that goal of unity among Jesus’ disciples. I think framing it that way: this isn’t a matter of compromise; it’s not a liberal-driven agenda. This is about being faithful to the Lord’s desire that we be one and putting ourselves at the service of that in a way that Jesus did.”
The CCCB and its partners also desire an “ecumenism of truth” with Orthodox, Anglican, Lutheran, Jewish, Hindu, and other faith communities. Dialogues and relationship-building programs will be at the heart of augmenting this interfaith pathway.
There was also a call to observe Pope Francis’ endorsement of the Lund Principle, which affirms that ecumenical partners should act together in all matters except when deep doctrinal or other significant differences require separate denominational approaches.
Finally, the bishops and their allies from other faiths seek a greater spiritual ecumenism by praying for unity at greater frequency, adding more ecumenical prayer services and identifying new opportunities for encountering Christians of different denominations.
Archbishop Bolen said, “We do see that there’s much that we can do together that we don’t presently do.” He said much could be accomplished “in terms of common witness, common mission, common study and formation, engagement in the public sphere and taking care of the poor.”
Ecumenical Prayer Services for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity in the Archdiocese of Vancouver:
- Monday, Jan. 20, 2025
6:30 p.m. – St. Anthony’s Parish, West Vancouver - Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025
12:00 p.m. – St. Ann’s Parish, Abbotsford
7:00 p.m. – St. Peter’s Parish, New Westminster - Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025
3:30 p.m. – John Paul II Pastoral Centre, Vancouver
5:30 p.m. – St. Mark’s Parish, UBC - Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025
7:00 p.m. – St. Joseph the Worker Parish, Richmond - Friday, Jan. 31, 2025
6:30 p.m. – Sacred Heart Parish, Delta Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025
12:00 p.m. – All Saints, Coquitlam
This schedule is being updated. For the latest information visit rcav.org/ecumenism-and-interfaith-relations/wpcu.
With Catholic News Agency, Catholic Register, and Canadian Catholic News files
Your voice matters! Join the conversation by submitting a Letter to the Editor here.
