Activities of the Holy Father Pope Francis

Dear Bishop Ulrich,
Dear friends,

I offer you my warm welcome, and am glad at your presence. I sincerely thank you, Bishop Ulrich, for the words addressed to me, and which testify to your ecumenical commitment. I also cordially greet the other representatives of the German National Committee of the World Lutheran Federation and of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Germany, together with their guests.

With joy I remember the moments shared last year on the occasion of the Common Commemoration of the Reformation. Previously on 31 October 2016 we had met in Lund to identify in a spirit of fraternal communion what, for the wounds of the past, could instead have provoked controversy and hatred. Grateful to God, we have seen that the five hundred years of history – sometimes very