His Holiness Pope Francis will take part in an online church service alongside the Archbishops of Canterbury and York and a number of other senior UK church leaders for the first time online.
He will deliver a special message for the virtual service for Pentecost Sunday the day Christians celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit and the birth of the Church. The service marks the finale of this years Thy Kingdom Come, an annual ecumenical global prayer movement for evangelisation between Ascension Day and Pentecost.
The Popes heartfelt message calls on all Christians to seek a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit in order that they might be bearers of Christs love, light and hope, in a world experiencing a tragic famine of hope but also urges a turning away from the selfish pursuit of success without caring for those left behind and to be united in facing the pandemics of the virus and of hunger, war, contempt for life and indifference to others.
In the service he will say: Today, more than ever, it is necessary to implore the Holy Spirit to pour forth into our hearts the life of God, who is love. Indeed, if there is to be a better future, our hearts must change for the better. Today our world is experiencing a tragic famine of hope. How much pain is all around us, how much emptiness, how much inconsolable grief. Let us, then, become messengers of the comfort bestowed by the Spirit. Let us radiate hope, and the Lord will open new paths as we journey towards the future.
You can watch the service live on the Church of England Facebook page from 9am on Sunday 31 May.