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Celebrating the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, Pope Francis has reiterated the Catholic Church's readiness to accept a unified date for Easter celebrations in both Eastern and Western traditions. This proposal comes as 2025 marks a year when Easter falls on the same date according to both the Gregorian and Julian calendars.
Pope Francis expressed his hope that this coincidence could encourage Christians worldwide to take "a decisive step forward toward unity around a common date for Easter." During an ecumenical evening prayer service at Rome’s Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls on January 25, he stated, "The Catholic Church is open to accepting the date that everyone wants: a date of unity."
The prayer service concluded the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, which commemorated the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea. This council provided Christians with a shared Creed and established a method for determining Easter's celebration date. Historically, different Christian communities observed Easter on varying dates until Nicaea decided it should be celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon following the spring equinox.
However, discrepancies arose due to differences between calendars. The Julian calendar gradually drifted from alignment with the solar year, prompting Pope Gregory XIII to reform it in 1582. Despite these changes, most Eastern Christians did not adopt this new Gregorian calendar, resulting in occasional differences in Easter celebration dates.
Pope Francis was joined by Orthodox Metropolitan Polykarpos of Italy and Malta and Anglican Archbishop Ian Ernest during prayers before St. Paul's tomb at the basilica. The theme for this year's week of prayer centered on Jesus' question to Martha from Bethany: “Do you believe this?”
Reflecting on this Gospel passage, Pope Francis noted that it teaches resilience and hope even amid desolation. He emphasized that "Jesus gives life even when it seems that all hope has vanished," encouraging continued faith despite life's challenges.
Addressing potential doubts about achieving Christian unity or successful ecumenical dialogue, Pope Francis asked believers if they trust in Jesus' promise as "the resurrection and the life" who rewards efforts towards unity.
In light of Nicaea's anniversary, he called it "a year of grace" and urged Christians sharing common beliefs to rediscover their faith roots while preserving unity: “Let us always move forward! May the unity we all are searching for be found.”
