The Archdiocese of Chicago Invites All to Join Pope Francis’ Call to Pray in Solidarity with All Christians for Hope and Healing from COVID-19
Chicago, IL (March 24, 2020) – Cardinal Blase J. Cupich, archbishop of Chicago, and several Christian Bishops will lead a joint recitation of the Lord’s Prayer on March 25, 12 p.m. in response to Pope Francis’ invitation to all Christians to unite in prayer for healing and hope in light of the coronavirus pandemic. March 25th is a day in which many Christians commemorate the announcement of the angel Gabriel to Mary that she would be the mother of the Savior.
In his address, Pope Francis stated, “I invite all the Heads of Churches and the leaders of all the Christian Communities, together with all the Christians of the various Confessions, to invoke the Most High, Almighty God, reciting contemporaneously the prayer that Jesus Our Lord taught us. I invite all, therefore, to do so several times a day, but, all together, to recite the Our Father next Wednesday, March 25, at midday – all together.”
In response to the pope’s call, the Catholic Church in the United States is reaching out to its dialogue partners at the national and local levels, inviting them to join in the Lord’s Prayer. “As St. Paul wrote, ‘when one suffers, we all suffer’. Let that inspire us to work and pray together in solidarity as the Body of Christ,” said Cardinal Cupich.
Cardinal Cupich will be joined in leading this recitation at Saint James Chapel by His Eminence, Metropolitan Nathanael of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Chicago and the Rev. Yehiel Curry, bishop of the Metropolitan Chicago Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The Right Rev. Jeffrey Lee, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Chicago, and the Rev. Sally Dyck, bishop of the Northern Illinois Conference of the United Methodist Church, will participate in the recitation online through their churches’ media platforms.
From their own location, everyone is welcome to participate in the Ecumenical Recitation of the Lord’s Prayer. A countdown link is available at https://youtu.be/QS8y0URqzNo.
For more information, please visit archchicago.org/coronavirus.
