After the "Together" vigil which was held on 30 September 2023 shortly before the opening of the first session of the General Assembly of the Synod on Synodality and which gathered 18,000 people on St Peter’s Square for a prayer with Pope Francis and over 20 leaders of different Churches, Taizé was asked to prepare a further ecumenical prayer for the participants in the second session of the Synod.
This prayer, was held on Friday 11 October, 2024 at the Place of the Protomartyrs close to St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican. Pope Francis took part together with all the Synod participants, including the fraternal delegates - people who come from Churches other than the Roman Catholic Church - and local ecumenical representatives.
It was on 11 October that the Second Vatican Council opened in 1963. The prayer was an expression of thanksgiving for all that has been achieved since the Council on the path towards the unity of Christians that Jesus prayed for and of intercession for the journey that still lies ahead.
Around the date of the 2023 “Together” prayer vigil, 220 different prayer vigils took place around the globe in response to Pope Francis’ invitation to Christians of different denominations and traditions to invoke the presence of the Holy Spirit upon the work of the Synod.
This year also, different initiatives took place in various parts of the world around 11 October to pray for the second session of the Synod.
LIve retransmission on Vatican News
Pope Francis’ homily
Text in English on the Vatican website
Suggestion for a time of prayer
Photo: Lars König / Media Team “Together”