“Do you believe this?”
(John 11, 26)
The traditional date for the celebration of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, in the northern hemisphere, is from 18 to 25 January, a date proposed in 1908 by Father Paul Wattson, because it falls between the feast of the chair of Saint Peter and that of the conversion of Saint Paul; therefore takes on a symbolic meaning. In the southern hemisphere, where January is a holiday season, churches celebrate the Week of Prayer on other dates, for example at the time of Pentecost (as suggested by the Faith and Constitution movement in 1926), an equally symbolic period for the unity of the Church.*
WITNESSES AC
Servant of God Maria Marchetta
Through daily listening to Vatican Radio, Mary closely follows the work of the Second Vatican Council, while Paul VI's meeting with the Orthodox Patriarch Athenagoras matured in her the resolution to offer her life for the unity of Christians .
Blessed Maria Sagheddu (Maria Gabriella of the Unit)
In La Trappe, lived in total abandonment to the will of God, she feels like a second call, that of offering herself as a victim for the unity of Christians, after declaring her intention to her spiritual father and Mother Abbess, Pia Giulini, a prominent figure among the forerunners of the pre-conciliar ecumenical movement.
Mary is present in the Roman Martyrology, because she offered her life for the unity of Christians.
Servant of God Madeleine Volpato
He died on the night of May 27, 1946 at the Ospedale al Mare in Venice as a "special sacrifice" for the sweet hope of the Supreme Shepherd of the Church. His memory is alive among the Sisters and many devotees, especially during the Week of Prayers for Christian Unity.
Blessed Vladimir Ghika
On November 18, 1952 he was arrested and then convicted because he had pledged to save the Catholic Church in Romania when there was the risk of breaking ties with Rome.
