Pope Leo calls for ‘path to unity’ during meeting with Orthodox and Catholic pilgrims from the U.S.

Pope Leo XIV pledged to “pursue the path of unity and fraternal charity” during a meeting in Castel Gandolfo with Orthodox and Catholic clergy from the United States.

The group were on the pilgrimage “From Rome to New Rome” and included fifty Greek Orthodox, Byzantine Catholic, and Latin Catholic pilgrims from the U.S., among them Greek Orthodox Archbishop Elpidophoros of America and Cardinal Joseph Tobin, Archbishop of Newark, New Jersey.

This year marks the 1700th anniversary of the Ecumenical Council of Nicaea. The first Council, held in 325, condemned the Arian heresy, which denied the true divinity of Jesus Christ. It is also one of the rare years in which Western and Eastern Churches observed Easter on the same day.