Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople has announced his intention to attend the upcoming enthronement of newly elected Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican, and the leaders of the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches have both expressed plans to meet up.

According to the Union of Orthodox Journalists, Bartholomew made the statement on May 8 during an event at the amphitheater of the Basil and Elise Goulandris Foundation in Athens. The announcement came just hours after the election of Leo XIV as pope.

“We look at the new pontiff with Christian hope. I intend to come to his enthronement and propose developing dialogue between the East and the West,” Bartholomew stated, emphasizing his aspirations for closer relations between the two historic Christian traditions.

The Patriarch also extended a symbolic invitation, suggesting that the new pope “combine his visit to Nicaea with an official visit to the Ecumenical Patriarchate on the occasion of our feast of Saint Andrew on November 30.”

On Monday afternoon the newly elected pontiff stated, “The meeting with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew will take place, we are preparing it,” though it is not sure yet when precisely the meeting will take place.

In his speech, Bartholomew expressed hope that Leo XIV’s papacy would contribute to global peace, saying the pontiff could provide leadership “not only in the social sphere but also by offering answers to the existential questions that continue to trouble humanity.”

He further voiced optimism that the new pope might help end ongoing conflicts, particularly citing the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, and prevent tensions escalating between India and Pakistan. “I hope that we can open a new era in our bilateral relations and in relations between the East and the West,” the Patriarch concluded.

This development marks a continuation of efforts toward reconciliation and dialogue between the Catholic and Orthodox Churches, which have remained in schism since the Great Schism of 1054. As reported by the National Catholic Reporter in 2014, a significant milestone in Catholic-Orthodox relations came when Bartholomew joined Pope Francis at the Vatican to pray for peace in the Holy Land, alongside Israeli President Shimon Peres and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Pope Francis and Patriarch Bartholomew also walked together in the footsteps of their predecessors, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras, who met in Jerusalem in 1964, ending centuries of silence between the two churches.

A handout picture provided by the Vatican Media shows Pope Francis receives Bartholomew I, Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, at the Vatican, 30 September 2023.

On the feast of St. Andrew the Apostle in 2023, Pope Francis reiterated the importance of this reconciliation. In a letter sent to Patriarch Bartholomew, he expressed “fraternal affection” and reflected on the “deep bonds of faith, hope, and charity” between the churches, as reported by Catholic News Agency. Francis wrote, “It is highly significant that this journey of reconciliation, increasing closeness, and overcoming of obstacles still impeding full visible communion began with an embrace.”

The enthronement of Pope Leo XIV presents the next opportunity for such gestures of ecumenical outreach.