Archbishop Bernard Hebda will represent the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis at an ecumenical prayer service Jan. 22 in recognition of the Reformation’s 500th anniversary.
He will preach for the Joint Evening Prayer in Commemoration of the Reformation at Central Lutheran Church in Minneapolis at 5 p.m. The archdiocese has partnered with the St. Paul Area Synod and the Minneapolis Area Synod for the service, which is open to the public. Bishop Patricia Lull of the St. Paul Area Synod and Bishop Ann Svennungsen of the Minneapolis Area Synod will also have prominent roles at the event.
The prayer service falls during the annual International Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, which runs Jan. 18-25.
The Reformation began in 1517 with Martin Luther’s “95 Theses,” a list of topics on which, the author believed, the Catholic Church needed to reform, and which he infamously nailed to a church door in Wittenberg, Germany. A Catholic priest himself, Martin Luther’s document and movement eventually led to his followers splitting from the Catholic Church. Other reformers followed suit during that period in history.
In the centuries following the Reformation, the Catholic Church has continued working with other churches to restore Christian Unity. Pope Francis has echoed that call in recent months.
