Pope Francis sent a brief video message to a group that was founded to promote unity, called the John 17 Movement, since John Chapter 17 contains the prayer of Christ, "That they all may be one."
The founder of the movement is a friend of a friend of the pope's, and thus the Holy Father has taken a special interest in the group. Furthermore, of course, the work for unity is very aligned with the pope's own goals in his pontificate, as seen especially in his encyclical Fratelli Tutti.
The group was meeting in New York for a two-day at St. Joseph’s Seminary and College in Yonkers, New York.
In the message, the pope urged an encounter with Jesus, an encounter with love, from which is born "friendship, brotherhood and the certainty of being children of the same Father."
At the end of the message, the Pope made his customary request that we pray for him, but he added, "because this work is not easy at all!"
