Pope Francis said that both Catholics and Lutherans have a chance to accept a common path at a joint prayer service at Lund's cathedral to commemorate the 500th anniversary of Luther’s protest at Wittenberg, In Germany, that was the catalyst for the Reformation that claimed millions of lives and created a schism from the Roman Catholic church.
"Catholics and Lutherans ... have undertaken a common journey of reconciliation. Now, in the context of the commemoration of the Reformation of 1517, we have a new opportunity to accept a common path, one that has taken shape over the past 50 years in the ecumenical dialogue between the Lutheran World Federation and the Catholic Church."
Earlier, under a thick grey sky, Francis landed at Malmo airport and was welcomed to Sweden with a small formal ceremony, which conveyed by its brevity that the trip was not a formal state visit, but had another purpose.
On the papal plane, Francis told reporters that the trip was a "very important ecclesial event" because of its ecumenical focus. He also asked that the journalists help in explaining the trip "so that people understand it well".
On arrival, he was greeted by Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven and by Archbishop Antje Jackelen, primate of the Lutheran Church of Sweden, as well as by the country's only Catholic bishop, Bishop Anders Arborelius of Sweden.
A military band played the Vatican and Swedish national anthems as the pope and prime minister stood facing Sweden's flag, which is blue with a yellow cross. Members of the general public were not present for the welcoming ceremony.
The pope met briefly in an airport VIP lounge with Prime Minister Lofven before travelling to Igelosa, a medical research centre outside Lund, which transformed a room in its conference centre into the papal residence for his 26-hour stay in Sweden.
PICTURE - Pope Francis hugs Rev. Martin Junge, General Secretary of the Lutheran World Federation, as Lutheran Archbishop Ante Jackelen, Primate of the Church of Sweden, is seen in the background at right, during an ecumenical prayer at Lund's Lutheran Cathedral, in Sweden, on Monday
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