# Unite All Christians into a Single Family – A Prayer to Mary, Mother of the Church
*2015-10-13*

> Bill reflects on Pope Francis’ ecumenical outreach and shares a prayer composed by Pope Paul VI, asking Mary, Mother of the Church, to unite all Christians into one family.

## A Moment of Ecumenical Hope

Good afternoon, I’m Bill Young. Today is Tuesday, October 13, the feast day of Blessed Marie‑Rose Durocher of Montreal. While I was at a charitable event for the Girls & Boys Club of America, I spoke with volunteers from several Christian traditions. When I asked how their churches responded to Pope Francis’ recent visit to the United States, each of them expressed the same sentiment we share: love for the Pope and a desire for the unity of all churches and peoples in Christ.

## Prayer to Mary, Mother of the Church

Let us now pray the text composed by Pope Paul VI, titled “O Mary, Mother of the Church.”

All‑virgin Mary, Mother of the Church, to you we entrust the whole Church, you who were given as mother to the beloved disciples by your Divine Son at the moment of His redemptive death. Remember the Christian people who turn to you. Sustain us in prayer to God. Keep our faith steadfast, strengthen our hope, increase our love. Remember all who suffer. Unite all Christians into a single family, a temple of light without shadow or strain. Intercede for us before your Only‑Begotten Son, the Mediator of our reconciliation with the Father, that He may grant us mercy in our shortcomings. Keep us far from discord, filling our hearts with the joy of love. May the whole Church always raise a hymn of praise and thanksgiving to the God of mercy—a hymn of joy, a hymn of grace, exalting the Lord who has done great things through you.

O Clement, O Loving, O Sweet Virgin Mary, Queen of Heaven and Earth, with your Son Jesus Christ bring about the union of all Christians into a single family, and may all our brothers, sisters, and every creature of the earth be united.

## Living the Prayer

The prayer reminds us that unity is not merely a theological ideal but a lived reality, rooted in the intercession of Mary and the example of Pope Francis. As we encounter believers from different traditions, let us carry this prayer in our hearts, asking Mary to draw us together in love, hope, and shared worship.

*Through Mary’s maternal intercession, the Church can become the one family Pope Francis envisions.*