NEWS

The Franciscan Friars of Atonement, founders of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, will mark the 2026 observance with the release of eight daily video reflections, continuing a global ecumenical movement that began in a small chapel at Graymoor more than a century ago.

By decree of Pope Leo XIV, the Church will observe a Jubilee Year honoring Saint Francis of Assisi on the eight hundredth anniversary of his Transitus, from January 10, 2026, through January 10, 2027.

The Franciscan Friars of the Atonement at Graymoor are helping to plan an Ecumenical Service of the Word in Manhattan in observation of the 2026 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.

Surrounded by fellow community members and family, Br. Alexander Espinosa, SA, made his final profession of vows to the Society of the Atonement on December 12. The profession ceremony and Mass were celebrated in Lima, Peru.

The Franciscan Friars of the Atonement, headquartered at Graymoor in Garrison, NY, welcome Archbishop-elect Ronald Hicks and look forward to working with him in strengthening ecumenical and interreligious relationships and improving the lives of men and women in recovery.

With the arrival of a new year, we are given a chance to begin again, connected in God’s faithfulness and strengthened by hope for what lies ahead.

On January 16, 1863, Lewis Thomas Wattson — the future Fr. Paul Wattson, SA — was born in Millington, Maryland, to an Episcopal minister and his wife. No one could have imagined that this child, raised within the Anglican tradition, would one day become a Roman Catholic priest and a prophetic voice calling all Christians to unity.

As we near the end of 2025 – this “Ecumenical Year” in which so many major anniversaries are being celebrated and the future of interchurch and interreligious peacebuilding is coming into focus as increasingly urgent – Graymoor Ecumenical & Interreligious Institute (GEII) has been hard at work on new initiatives and partnerships that are already bearing fruit.

This past October, Graymoor Ecumenical & Interreligious Institute (GEII), a ministry of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement, hosted two inspiring installments of the Paul Wattson Lecture Series, continuing a tradition of interreligious dialogue and theological reflection that honors the legacy of Servant of God Father Paul Wattson, SA.