Returning to our roots: Leo XIV's message to the Lutherans and the challenge of 2030

2 Timothy 1:13–14

¹³Keep faithfully the sound instructions you received from me concerning the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. ¹⁴Guard the good deposit entrusted to you by the Holy Spirit who dwells in us.

1 Corinthians 1:12–13

¹²I mean that one of you says, "I follow Paul," another, "I follow Apollos," and another, "I follow Cephas," and another, "I follow Christ."" ¹³Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul?

Ephesians 4:4–5

⁴There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the same hope when you were called. ⁵There is only one Lord, one faith, one baptism,

On October 1, 2026, Leo XIV said something bolder than diplomatic courtesy to representatives of the Lutheran World Federation. He asked them to return «with profound fervor» to roots that predate denominations—that is, to the faith of the early Church and the Fathers. This is not about retreating to an idealized past. It is about rediscovering the ground on which Catholics and Lutherans once stood together, before acronyms, condemnations, and cultures of mistrust drove them apart.

This statement comes at a particularly opportune moment: four years separate us from 2030, when we will celebrate the five hundredth anniversary of the Augsburg Confession. For centuries, this text served as a banner for one side or the other. The Pope proposes seeing it as something else entirely, a "pre-confessional ecumenical potential." A document long interpreted as a boundary would thus become a threshold.

A message that goes back beyond confessions.

The word "roots" is not a slogan

The Pope doesn't say "let's return to Rome" or "let's return to Wittenberg." He says "our common roots." A root isn't debated like a position: it nourishes the tree, and no one can claim it alone. By referring to "the faith of the early Church and the Church Fathers," Leo XIV chooses ground that both traditions recognize. Lutherans have always sought to base their confession on Scripture and the faith of the early Church. Catholics, for their part, see in the Fathers proof that their doctrine wasn't invented over the centuries.

This choice is therefore less neutral than it appears. It reminds us that the Reformers themselves did not see themselves as the founders of a new Church. They wanted to remain faithful to the faith they had received. Returning to the roots means agreeing with them on this specific point, while also asking Catholics to recognize that the Western Church needed reform.

An "apostolic" heritage before being "confessional"«

The adjective "pre-confessional" deserves closer attention. A confession of faith always arises from a specific moment: it responds to a crisis, it draws a line, it excludes what threatens it. Before this moment, there is a deposit received, which Paul recommends to Timothy in these terms: "Guard the good deposit entrusted to you, with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us" (2 Tim 1:13-14). This deposit belongs to no camp, and it is to this deposit that the Pope directs his gaze.

Irenaeus of Lyons, already, contrasted the spirit of division with the "rule of faith" received from the apostles and observed by all the Churches, in the same way in Lyons and Alexandrias. Augustine of Hippo, faced with the schisms of his time, implored Christians not to tear the robe of Christ. These voices belong to both Catholics and Lutherans, for Luther himself quoted Augustine with remarkable consistency. The Fathers do not form a camp but a common house, the keys to which are held by both traditions.

The word "fervor": a conversion before a method

The Pope adds a word rarely heard in a speech about dialogue: fervor. Theological commissions require patience, precision, and texts, and they have produced considerable fruit. But no agreement can last if it is not based on a surge of the heart. Leo XIV recalls what Francis had already said: ecumenism is not an exercise in ecclesiastical diplomacy but a path of grace. It does not depend on human negotiations; it depends on the grace of God.

This phrase shifts the focus from those negotiating to the One who unites. It also prevents us from falling into the trap of believing that unity will be the result of good timing or skillful compromise. If unity is a grace, it must be asked for, and asked for on our knees. Ecumenism then becomes a form of prayer before it is a form of work.

Augsburg 1530: a threatened, but unbroken unity

What the Pope said on June 25, 1530

Leo XIV reminds us of a detail that is often forgotten: when the Augsburg Confession was read on June 25, 1530, before Emperor Charles V, the unity of the Western Church was threatened, but not yet broken. The text, written by Philipp Melanchthon with the approval of Martin Luther, does not present itself as the birth certificate of a new Church. It aims to show that the Evangelicals do not deviate in any way from the Catholic faith, as the Church has always professed it. In its articles on God, Christ, and the Church, the Trinity and the Incarnation are affirmed without reservation.

The Pope adds that this text was only later understood as an instrument of divisive "confessionalization." In other words, the division was a late development, partly constructed by subsequent generations through polemics, political alliances, and religious wars. Acknowledging this does not erase the real disagreements, but it changes how we view them: they are not inscribed in the text as inevitable.

Four stones already laid

The Pope is not starting from scratch. Official dialogue between Catholics and Lutherans has existed since 1967, just after the Second Vatican Council, and is now in its sixth phase. The most famous milestone is the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification, signed in Augsburg in 1999 under John Paul II. It affirmed a consensus on the fundamental truths of what Luther considered the article of law by which the Church stands or falls: we are saved by grace, in faith in Christ, and not by our own merits alone.

Leo XIV also invites us to reread more recent texts on the Eucharist, on ministry in the Church, and on the paths to communion. His aim is clear: a renewed communion in the apostolic faith, in the sacraments, and in the ministries. This three-part framework honestly identifies where the difficulties lie. It is not simply a matter of friendship between Churches, but rather a discussion of what is celebrated at the altar and who is authorized to do so.

Read again without naivety or suspicion

A shared rereading of the Augsburg Confession requires no naiveté. The text contains statements that the Catholic Church cannot simply accept at face value, particularly regarding ministry, certain abuses it denounces, and the understanding of authority. At the time, Catholic theologians responded with a Refutation. But the Pope suggests another reading, one that distinguishes between what the text says about the received faith and how history has made it into a rallying cry.

From this perspective, the 2030 project is ambitious: to achieve a common understanding, even a shared declaration, on the Augsburg Confession. The head of the secretariat of the Lutheran World Federation welcomed this prospect, as this text remains relevant for Lutheran churches worldwide. The possibility that a pope and a Lutheran communion could one day say together, "This is what we confess from this text," would already be a significant event. It would also be an act of healing memory.

Healing the Memory: From Accusation to Confession

Healing memory does not mean erasing it. It means that each person stops recounting the past as a trial where they stand alone in the dock as plaintiffs. Catholics must acknowledge the abuses that provoked the Reformers' anger, and Lutherans must acknowledge the violence, the rifts, and the caricatures that followed. This dual acknowledgment is a work of truth, and truth is the condition of charity.

We can see in this what Paul describes to the Corinthians, each of whom claimed allegiance to a particular master: «Each of you says, «I follow Paul,» «I follow Apollos,» «I follow Peter,»… Is Christ divided?» (1 Corinthians 1:12-13). The Apostle’s question has lost none of its force. It does not ask who is right, but to whom one belongs. And the answer is neither Rome nor Wittenberg, but the One who was crucified for us.

Ecumenical witnesses for a Christ who is not a "foreign word"«

Christ, a "foreign word"?

The conclusion of the speech is perhaps its most penetrating statement: Christ must not become a "foreign word" in our world. The Pope is not speaking here about Church politics but about the perception of the Gospel by those who do not believe in it or who no longer believe in it. A word becomes foreign when it is no longer understood, but also when those who bear it contradict one another. A world that sees divided Christians hears a divided message.

Christ himself linked these two realities in the prayer we read in John: that they may all be one, so that the world may believe. Unity, therefore, is not a luxury of institutions; it is a condition for the credibility of the mission. Every disunity we foster makes the Gospel seem a little more distant to those who hear it. Every step toward communion makes it a little closer.

Witnesses before delegates

Leo XIV called for "ecumenical witnesses of Christ," who would make him known through their lives and actions. The word "witness" is very precise. It does not refer to a representative, a negotiator, or an expert, but to someone whose very existence lends credibility to the Gospel. One can imagine a Catholic parish and a Lutheran parish in the same neighborhood jointly organizing a meal distribution for isolated individuals, and then reading the Word together in the evening. This small gesture is worth more than a press release, for it demonstrates, without explicitly stating it, that Christ is one.

This appeal is addressed to theologians, but not to them alone. The Pope invited "all believers, and in particular theologians," to fix their gaze on Christ and his Gospel. This reminds us that ecumenism is not reserved for a select few specialists. It takes place in mixed families, in hospital chaplaincies, and in shared prayer. It takes place wherever baptized people first recognize themselves as such.

A unit received rather than manufactured

When Paul writes to the Ephesians, he is not asking them to create unity but to preserve it: «One body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism» (Ephesians 4:4-5). Unity precedes our efforts, for it is given with baptism. Our task is to make it visible, that is, to prevent it from being an abstract idea that each person invokes without living it.

This is precisely what the Pope means when he speaks of a "full and visible unity." The word "visible" is important. Catholics are not satisfied with an invisible spiritual unity; they expect signs: the same Eucharistic table, recognized ministries, a faith professed together. Lutherans, too, desire real communion, not just friendly exchanges. On this point, the two traditions converge, even if there is still a long way to go.

The context of a Europe in search of meaning

It is significant that these words come just days after the Pope's visit to France, which concluded in Metz on September 28 with a meeting dedicated to the roots of Europe, peace, and unity. There, too, the Pope emphasized the idea that it is not a matter of converting others but of walking alongside them. The two messages resonate with each other: a Europe that forgets its Christian roots loses some of its vitality, and Christians who forget their shared roots lose the strength to sustain it.

This Europe is also the one where the ruptures of the 16th century occurred, with their attendant wars and exiles. Therefore, the fact that a pope comes here to plead for reconciliation on the eve of the anniversary of Augsburg carries significant symbolic weight. What tore the continent apart could become what helps to reconcile it, if we are willing to look at this history together.

What you can do right now

You don't have to wait until 2030 to join this movement. You can begin by praying weekly for Christian unity, specifically mentioning your Lutheran brothers and sisters. You can read a few pages from the Church Fathers, even just a few lines from Irenaeus or Augustine, and see how simply they speak of God. Finally, you can contact a Protestant parish near you and suggest a joint Bible study.

These gestures are modest, but they are precisely what the Pope is asking for: a return to our roots by living them. Unity is rarely built through grand gestures. It is created, or rather, it is received, through daily, patient, and joyful acts of fidelity, with an unwavering fervor.

Lectio divina

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