Pope prepares to meet with Ecumenical Patriarch

“The meeting with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew will take place, we are preparing it,” the newly elected pontiff stated, referring to a long-anticipated gathering initially planned between Patriarch Bartholomew and the late Pope Francis, according to Orthodox Times.

The meeting was scheduled to take place on May 26 in Nicaea, Asia Minor, to mark the 1,700th anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council — a pivotal event in the history of Christianity. While Pope Leo XIV did not clarify whether the date will remain unchanged or be slightly postponed for logistical reasons, preparations are clearly underway.

In the meantime, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew is expected to arrive in Rome on Sunday, May 18, to attend the enthronement ceremony of the new Roman Pontiff and to hold a private meeting with him.

Patriarch Bartholomew, in a recent speech following the papal election, emphasized his intention to continue the cooperation between Constantinople and the Vatican: “We look forward, with Christian hope, to the new successor. I intend to attend his enthronement and to propose that we continue the dialogue between East and West. May he combine his visit to Nicaea with an official visit to the Ecumenical Patriarchate, on the occasion of our patronal feast of St. Andrew, on November 30.”

According to Orthodox Times, the upcoming meetings between the heads of the Orthodox and Catholic Churches signal a renewed commitment to ecumenical dialogue and unity between East and West, continuing the path charted by their predecessors.