Bishop Kenneth Kearon has written to both the clergy of his own diocese and to the Catholic bishops to say the forthcoming visit of Pope Francis is important “for all Christians in Ireland,” and he gave thanks for the “great hope the visit brings to Christians of all denominations, in our complex and unsettled world.”

Pope Francis was “exercising remarkable Christian leadership on a global scale” and had an effect “few would have thought possible in a remarkably short time,” he wrote.

In support of the World Meeting of Families, he said, it was an “interest we all share. Families are at the heart of church and community in Ireland.”

In preparation for the visit Bishop Kearon has written to his diocesan clergy and readers “to take the opportunity to strengthen the warm ecumenical bonds that already exist between churches in this region”. Bishop Kearon also “felt it appropriate that each church send a message, possibly a letter or a visit, to their own local Roman Catholic parishes, assuring them of our prayers and good wishes at this time”.

He has also written to his fellow Catholic bishops “rejoicing in Pope Francis’s own ecumenical commitment on a wider front, and noted his warm personal friendship with the Archbishop of Canterbury, Most Revd Justin Welby”, head of the worldwide Anglican Communion.