The Octave of Prayer for Christian Unity, which begins Jan. 18, takes place each year in the days leading up to the celebration of the Conversion of St. Paul on Jan. 25, when the Pope travels to the Basilica of St. Paul’s Outside the Walls in Rome to pray with other Christian leaders for what Jesus prayed during the Last Supper: that we might be truly one.
It’s appropriate that it takes place at the basilica where St. Paul is buried, because the Apostle to the Gentiles fought so hard among the first Christians for that unity, urging us to “live in a manner worthy of the call you have received … striving to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace: one body and one Spirit, as you were also called to the one hope of your call; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all” (Ephesians 4:1-6).
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