Ten years after Pope Francis met with Lutherans in Lund, Catholics and Lutherans are once again looking together toward a historic date: 2030.
That year will mark 500 years since the Augsburg Confession, the document presented in 1530 as a statement of the Reformers’ faith, and one that became a foundational text in the separation between Catholics and Lutherans.
The Pope’s vision is to use 2030 to build on what Catholics and Lutherans already share: Christ.
POPE LEO XIV
Christ must not become a foreign word in our world. Our world needs ecumenical witness to Christ who make him known through their lives and actions. For Christ alone is the living source capable of fulfilling humanity's deepest longings.
But the next major milestone already has a date. In 2030, the Lutheran World Federation will hold its World Assembly in Augsburg, marking the anniversary of the Augsburg Confession.
Leo XIV is now calling for a return to the text’s original ecumenical dimension.
POPE LEO XIV
Looking forward to 2030, it would be good if we could once again succeed in affirming together the pre-confessional ecumenical potential of the Confessio Augustana.
The Lutheran delegation arrived at the Vatican with two symbols of that journey: a cross created to commemorate Lund, and a piece of pottery made by young Palestinians in Jerusalem.
Daniel del Castillo González
