QUEBEC CITY – “Really?” Cardinal Gerald Lacroix, archbishop of Quebec, recalls the reaction of people when they learned that the Anglican bishop of Quebec was living with him in the Episcopal Palace.

CAPE TOWN, South Africa – Anti-apartheid activist Winnie Madikizela-Mandela was always a friend to South Africa's poor, said church leaders who took part in a two-week mourning period that culminated in her burial as a national hero.

For the first time in 500 years, Lutherans in Sweden are welcoming Catholics to celebrate Masses in Lund cathedral. The historic cathedral, formerly the site of bitter religious feuding, has become a site of interfaith friendship since Pope Francis held a service there in 2016.

EDMONTON – Ukrainian Catholics are celebrating the completion of a $1.4-million restoration of St. Josaphat’s Cathedral, a spiritual and historic landmark in downtown Edmonton for nearly 80 years.

VATICAN – Formalizing their unity in the intimate setting of the chapel of the papal residence, Pope Francis and Melkite Patriarch Joseph Absi concelebrated Mass together in the presence of members of the Melkite synod of bishops.

The annual Friars’ Student Writing Awards, sponsored by The Catholic Register and the Franciscan Friars of Atonement Graymoor, produced some stellar essays this year, three of which earned special recognition.

The annual Friars’ Student Writing Awards, sponsored by The Catholic Register and the Franciscan Friars of Atonement Graymoor, produced some stellar essays this year, three of which earned special recognition.

The annual Friars’ Student Writing Awards, sponsored by The Catholic Register and the Franciscan Friars of Atonement Graymoor, produced some stellar essays this year, three of which earned special recognition.

Every year, young writers from across Ontario impress the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement Graymoor and The Catholic Register with their insight into the themes of Christian unity.

VATICAN – To be effective evangelizers, the Catholic Church and other Christian churches must constantly undergo their own conversion to a stronger commitment to Christian unity, said Cardinal Kurt Koch, the Vatican's chief ecumenist.

DHAKA, Bangladesh – Devoting his last day in Bangladesh to the nation's tiny Catholic community, Pope Francis told clergy and religious that there was no way they could promote interreligious harmony in the country if their communities were marked by gossip, division and bitterness.

MADRID – A Spanish cardinal defended a unified Spain as a "moral good" and condemned "sedition and fraud" by secessionists working towards Catalan independence.

ROME, Italy – During an ecumenical Vespers service on Wednesday, Pope Francis told both Catholics and members of other Christian communities that unity can only happen when past grievances are forgiven and all sides walk forward with their gaze on Christ.

The fact that the Eucharist cannot yet be shared between faiths has left everyone “starving,” says the director of ecumenical and interfaith affairs for the Archdiocese of Toronto.

VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis has decided to begin 2017 in much the same way as he did last year: praying for Christian unity.