Pope Francis will travel to the Swiss city of Geneva early this summer for a visit to mark the 70th anniversary of the World Council of Churches (WCC), the Vatican has confirmed.
Andre Simonazzi, spokesman for the Swiss Federal Council, confirmed the visit on 28 February and said the pope will be welcomed by Swiss President Alain Berset when he arrives on 21 June, the Associated Press reported.
But the visit to WCC headquarters is believed to be the main focus of the one-day papal trip.
The Vatican confirmed the visit at a press conference today (2 March) where Cardinal Kurt Koch, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, and Rev. Olav Fykse Tveit, WCC secretary general, said the theme of the visit, marking the 70th anniversary of the global Christian fellowship, will be ‘Walking, Praying, Working Together’.
The papal trip would coincide with the final day of the weeklong, biennial meeting of the WCC’s Central Committee.
Established in 1948, the WCC is an international organisation of Christian churches and has the goal of fostering unity in fellowship, service and mission. Its members are spread across 348 churches of the Protestant, Anglican, Orthodox and Old Catholic traditions.
The Roman Catholic Church is not a member but has an official dialogue with the council and cooperates with it in various programs.
Pope Francis is the second Pope to visit Switzerland. Pope John Paul II visited Bern in 2004, a year before he died, and - early in his pontificate in 1984 - paid a visit to the WCC headquarters in Geneva.
PICTURE: The sun rises behind the Munster Swiss Reformed cathedral in Bern, Switzerland ©CNS
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