In a prayer for peace in the Middle East was the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew invited to take part, according to Vatican sources that was confirmed speaking to ANA-MPA on Tuesday.

On his own initiative Pope Francis, has also invited in Rome the Israeli President Shimon Pere as well as the Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

The invitation was formalised during the recent meeting of the Pope and the Ecumenical Patriarch in Jerusalem a week ago. “The Pontiff wishes the Ecumenical Patriarch to be with him. The excellent, brotherly relation they share is known to everybody,” Vatican sources said.

The details of the prayer meeting will become public in the next few days, while the Vatican has underlined that “the initiative will have absolutely no political character.