Final article from the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity about the meeting:

www.christianunity.va/content/unit...

After a time of concluding prayer we all went our separate ways. Thursday was my travel day, so I returned to the Casa Romana on Traspontina for a meal and a good night of sleep. I was absolutely zonked, but also full of joy for our time together. It was a good 3 days.

Having finally decided on Sept 1-3, 2026, we got to work on the draft of our communiqué. You can read it here:

www.christianunity.va/content/unit...

We then returned to our working groups to, well, work! Finally we came back together in our plenary to decide one the truly contentious issue: the dates of our next meeting! I say that only partly tongue in cheek, as it isn't easy finding a common date for 24 people.

Our day began with a special private audience with the Pope. He greeted each of us one by one, offered a few remarks of encouragement, and then we had a group photo. Archbishop Flavio Pace was interviewed by Vatican News about the meeting:

vaticannews.va/en/vatican-cit…

Finally, as a personal treat, I ran into Archbishop Gabriel Malzaire of Castries, Saint Lucia. We met back in 2003, when I had been a priest for barely a year and he was bishop in Dominica, and here we were, 22 years later. A most pleasant random encounter!

We then went out to dinner together, where we also met up with reps from various Protestant groups who have permanent representation in Rome.