Jesus left his apostles with a powerful message at the Last Supper. Again and again, he prayed that his followers would remain closely united, saying:
I pray not only for them, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, so that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me.
And I have given them the glory you gave me, so that they may be one, as we are one. (John 17:20-22)
One of the great tragedies of history is that his followers are not one, but splintered into many different denominations.
But a growing number of Christians are working toward that unity that Christ wants for us. An ecumenical coalition is dedicating efforts and prayers to achieving Christian unity.
May 14 marked the start of Thy Kingdom Come, a global ecumenical prayer movement that invites Christians around the world to pray from Ascension to Pentecost — this year, from May 14 to May 24 — for more people to come to know Jesus.
It began in 2016 as an invitation from the Archbishops of Canterbury and York to the Church of England, and has grown into a movement that unites more than a million Christians in nearly 90% of countries and across 85 different denominations.
Each participant is asked to pray in a special way for five others who need prayers:
We invite each and every Christian across the globe to pray that God’s Spirit might work in the lives of 5 people who have not responded with their “Yes” to God’s call.
Pope Leo’s message for Thy Kingdom Come
Pope Leo XIV joined the 2026 novena for unity with a five-minute video sharing a moving message of support.
He encouraged all participants in the novena to bear witness to Christ “by singing with our lives the Alleluia that we proclaim with our lips,” trusting that through Jesus’ power, “we too can give life to a new world of peace and unity.”
Part of his message, specially addressing Thy Kingdom Come, is below:
Dear friends, Christ is everything for us. In Him, we find the fullness of life and its meaning. This is not something about which we can keep silent. It is something to proclaim boldly, for it is indeed good news, and needs to be shared.
God is with us, and we who have encountered him are called to tell others about Him. These days of the Thy Kingdom Come novena are an especially fitting time to do so, to pray that others will also come to encounter the saving and liberating love of God revealed in Jesus.
The history of efforts toward unity
A new film, That They May Be One, chronicles recent efforts toward ecumenical unity. It features members of many denominations who speak candidly about unity in Christ, the work of the Holy Spirit, and the call of Jesus’ prayer in John 17. These contributors include pastors, theologians, scholars, and leaders, offering an informative starting point for those interested in the recent history of this movement.
Along with Pope Leo and Christians around the world, let us join in this novena, adding our voices to the chorus of those praying in the words of Christ: “That they may be one!”
