Pope Francis meeting the world’s largest ecumenical community of Protestant and Orthodox churches

Vatican City (AFP) – Pope Francis will seek deeper relations between the Catholic Church and other Christian faiths on Thursday while meeting the world’s largest ecumenical community of Protestant and Orthodox churches amid waning influence in Europe and indiscriminate attacks on worshippers elsewhere.

Pope Francis is in Geneva, the home of French Protestant reformist Jean Calvin, at the invitation of the World Council of Churches (WCC), which was created in 1948 and groups 350 churches from more than 100 countries around the world. During his visit he will take part in an “ecumenical prayer” for the organisation’s 70th anniversary, highlighting his commitment to unity between various Christian denominations. He will also celebrate Mass in front of tens of thousands of Catholics at the city’s Palexpo convention centre.

The Catholic Church is not part of the WCC, which represents 500 million believers, but Francis is keen to close the gap between the Catholic Church’s 1.3 billion-strong faithful and the Churches under the WCC umbrella, in particular given the regularity of deadly attacks on Christians.