Pope Francis expressed hope that Catholics and Orthodox Christians will collaborate together more often “to make visible our communion.” The Holy Father hoped that the intercession of St. Andrew will help to achieve it on the feast day of the saint.
The Pope sent a message to Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople. He highlighted that Christian unity would be realized through the grace of the Holy Spirit.
“Beloved brother in Christ, along the path towards full communion between our Churches, we are sustained by the intercession of the holy brothers Peter and Andrew, our patron saints,” Pope Francis said on 30 November.
“The full unity for which we yearn is, of course, a gift from God, through the grace of the Holy Spirit. May our Lord help us to be ready to embrace this gift through prayer, interior conversion, and openness to seeking and offering pardon.”
The Pope sends a message every year on 30 November to the Ecumenical Patriarch. He is regarded as the successor of St. Andrew the Apostle and “first among equals” in the Eastern Orthodox Church.