Responding to the invitation of His All-Holiness the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the head of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Leo XIV, visited the Phanar, following their joint celebration of the 1,700th anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council in Nicaea of Bithynia, during which they recited the Nicene Creed together.

This visit, the fruit of many years of communication and dialogue that began during the tenure of Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras and Pope Paul VI, further strengthens the desire for the unity of the Churches “into One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church.” Following the signing of the joint declaration, the longing for unity continues to grow and abound, especially at the dawn of the celebration of a common Easter.