18 January 2026 (Sunday) / Second Sunday in Ordinary Time / Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2026. “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling” (Ephesians 4:4)

18 January 2026 (Sunday)

Second Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2026.
“There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling”
(Ephesians 4:4)

The Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity (DPCU) is pleased to publish the texts for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2026. In the northern hemisphere, the Week of Prayer traditionally takes place from 18 to 25 January, while in the southern hemisphere, where January is frequently a holiday period, churches often celebrate the Week of Prayer around Pentecost.

The theme of the 2026 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity comes from the Letter to the Ephesians: “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling” (Eph 4:4). The prayers and reflections were prepared by an ecumenical group coordinated by the Inter-Church Relations’ Department of the Armenian Apostolic Church As usual, an international team appointed jointly by the DPCU and the Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches worked with the drafters to finalise the materials at a meeting held from 13 to 18 October 2024 at the Holy See of Etchmiadzin, Armenia.

The materials draw upon centuries-old traditions of prayer used by the Armenian people, along with hymns that originated in the ancient monasteries and churches of Armenia, some of which date as far back as the fourth century. The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2026 therefore offers an invitation to draw upon this shared Christian heritage and to delve more deeply into our fellowship in Christ, which unites Christians worldwide.

The materials include an introduction to the theme, an ecumenical worship service and a selection of short readings and prayers for each day of the week. The resources can be drawn upon in many ways, and are intended for use not only during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, but also throughout 2026.

Readings from the Bible of the Roman Catholic Church:

First Reading: Isaiah 49: 3, 5-6
Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 40: 2, 4, 7-8, 8-9, 10
Second Reading: First Corinthians 1: 1-3
Alleluia: John 1: 14, 12
Gospel: John 1: 29-34

First Reading: Isaiah 49: 3, 5-6

3 And he said to me: Thou art my servant Israel, for in thee will I glory.
5 And now saith the Lord, that formed me from the womb to be his servant, that I may bring back Jacob unto him, and Israel will not be gathered together: and I am glorified in the eyes of the Lord, and my God is made my strength.
6 And he said: It is a small thing that thou shouldst be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to convert the dregs of Israel. Behold, I have given thee to be the light of the Gentiles, that thou mayst be my salvation even to the farthest part of the earth.

Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 40: 2, 4, 7-8, 8-9, 10

R. (8 and 9) Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.
2 With expectation I have waited for the Lord, and he was attentive to me.
4 And he put a new canticle into my mouth, a song to our God.
R. Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.
7 Sacrifice and oblation thou didst not desire; but thou hast pierced ears for me. Burnt offering and sin offering thou didst not require:
8a Then said I, Behold I come.
R. Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.
8b In the head of the book it is written of me
9 That I should do thy will: O my God, I have desired it, and thy law in the midst of my heart.
R. Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.
10 I have declared thy justice in a great church, lo, I will not restrain my lips: O Lord, thou knowest it.
R. Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.

Second Reading: First Corinthians 1: 1-3

1 Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Sosthenes a brother,
2 To the church of God that is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that invoke the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, in every place of theirs and ours.
3 Grace to you, and peace from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Alleluia: John 1: 14, 12
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
14, 12 The Word of God became flesh and dwelt among us. To those who accepted him, he gave power to become children of God.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel: John 1: 29-34

29 The next day, John saw Jesus coming to him, and he saith: Behold the Lamb of God, behold him who taketh away the sin of the world.
30 This is he, of whom I said: After me there cometh a man, who is preferred before me: because he was before me.
31 And I knew him not, but that he may be made manifest in Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water.
32 And John gave testimony, saying: I saw the Spirit coming down, as a dove from heaven, and he remained upon him.
33 And I knew him not; but he who sent me to baptize with water, said to me: He upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining upon him, he it is that baptizeth with the Holy Ghost.
34 And I saw, and I gave testimony, that this is the Son of God.

For our reflection today:

The Baptist cannot hold back the urgent desire to bear witness to Jesus and declares: “I have seen and have borne witness” (v. 34). John saw something shocking, that is, the beloved Son of God in solidarity with sinners; and the Holy Spirit made him understand this unheard-of novelty, a true reversal. In fact, while in all religions it is man who offers and sacrifices something to God, in the event Jesus is God Who offers His Son for the salvation of humanity. John manifests his astonishment and his consent to this newness brought by Jesus, through a meaningful expression that we repeat each time in the Mass: “Behold the Lamb of God, Who takes away the sin of the world!” (v. 29). The testimony of John the Baptist invites us to start out again and again on our journey of faith: to start afresh from Jesus Christ, the Lamb full of mercy that the Father gave for us. Let us be surprised once again by God’s choice to be on our side, to show solidarity with us sinners, and to save the world from evil by taking it on fully. Let us learn from John the Baptist not to assume that we already know Jesus, that we already know everything about Him (cf. v. 31). This is not so. Let us pause with the Gospel, perhaps even contemplating an icon of Christ, a “Holy face”. Let us contemplate with our eyes and yet more with our hearts; and let us allow ourselves to be instructed by the Holy Spirit, Who tells us inside: It is He! (Pope Francis - Angelus, 19 January 2020)

Key dates in the historyof the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.
 
c. 1740In Scotland a Pentecostal movement arose, with North American links, whose revivalist message included prayers for and with all churches.
1820   The Rev. James Haldane Stewart publishes “Hints for the General Union of Christians for the Outpouring of the Spirit”.
1840    The Rev. Ignatius Spencer, a convert to Roman Catholicism, suggests a “Union of Prayer for Unity”.
1867  The First Lambeth Conference of Anglican Bishops emphasizes prayer for unity in the Preamble to its Resolutions.
1894   Pope Leo XIII encourages the practice of a Prayer Octave for Unity in the context of Pentecost.
1908 First observance of the “Church Unity Octave” initiated by the Rev. Paul Wattson.
1926The Faith and Order movement begins publishing “Suggestions for an Octave of Prayer for Christian Unity”.
1935    Abbé Paul Couturier of France advocates the “Universal Week of Prayer for Christian Unity” on the inclusive basis of prayer for “the unity Christ wills by the means he wills”.
1958    Unité Chrétienne (Lyon, France) and the Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches begin co-operative preparation of materials for the Week of Prayer.
1964   In Jerusalem, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras I prayed together Jesus’ prayer “that they all may be one” (John 17).
1964   The Decree on Ecumenism of Vatican II emphasizes that prayer is the soul of the ecumenical movement and encourages observance of the Week of Prayer.
1966    The Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches and the Secretariat for Promoting Christian Unity [now known as the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity] begin official joint preparation of the Week of Prayer material.
1968   First official use of Week of Prayer material prepared jointly by Faith and Order and the Secretariat for Promoting Christian Unity.
1975   First use of Week of Prayer material based on a draft text prepared by a local ecumenical group. An Australian group was the first to take up this plan in preparing the 1975 initial draft.
1988   Week of Prayer materials were used in the inaugural worship for The Christian Federation of Malaysia, which links the major Christian groupings in that country.
1994   International group preparing text for 1996 included representatives from YMCA and YWCA.
2004    Agreement reached that resources for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity be jointly published and produced in the same format by Faith and Order (WCC) and the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (Catholic Church).
2008   Commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. (Its predecessor, the Church Unity Octave, was first observed in 1908).
2017 Marking  the  commemoration  of  the  500th anniversary  of  the  Reformation,  the  materials  for the Week of Prayer in 2017 were prepared by Christians in Germany.
2025 Marking  the  commemoration  of  the  1700th  anniversary  of  the  first  Ecumenical  Council  of  the  Church,  held  in  Nicaea,  near  Constantinopl in  325  AD,  the  materials  were
prepared  by  the  brothers  and  sisters  of  the  monastic  community  of  Bose  in  northern
Italy.

Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity

Via della Conciliazione, 5 - 00193 Rome

 Vatican City State

Jonathan Fabian Ginunggil,
Most High Servant,
Jesus, Mary, Joseph Ministry of Love (Blessed  and Saints and the Nine Choirs of Angels)