Catholic World News News Feature

Joint Catholic-Lutheran Vespers at Vatican November 15, 1999

VATICAN (CWNews.com) -- Pope John Paul II presided at an ecumenical celebration of Vespers in St. Peter's Basilica on November 13, along with Lutheran bishops from Scandinavia, with the Swedish royal family present for the occasion. The solemn ceremony marked the conclusion of an international Lutheran-Catholic symposium honored St. Brigitte of Sweden.

Archbishops G. H. Hammar and Jukka Paarma-- the Lutheran primates of Sweden and Finland, respectively-- and Bishops Anders Arborelius of Stockholm and Czeslaw Kozon of Copenhagen joined with the Holy Father for the Vespers service. Several other Lutheran bishops from the Scandinavian countries were present for the ceremony, including two female bishops. In his remarks during the service, Pope John Paul insisted on the necessity for Christian unity, recalling that a similar ecumenical celebration had taken place on October 5, 1991, on the 400th anniversary of the canonization of St. Brigitte. (Eight years later, the Holy Father named St. Brigitte as a co-patron of Europe.) He also mentioned the recent Catholic-Lutheran declaration of justification.

Among those attending the Vespers service was the former Polish President Lech Walesa, who is known for his interest in Catholic- Lutheran unity and for his devotion to St. Brigitte.

At the conclusion of the ceremony, the Pope and the Lutheran bishops left St. Peter's Basilica together, to bless a new white-marble statue of St. Brigitte. Then the Pope and the Swedish royal couple-- King Carl Gustav and Queen Silvia-- met for a half-hour of private discussions.