ROME — As Christians work and pray for the restoration of full unity among them, they must be willing to learn from one another, even from the smallest of the Christian communities, Pope Francis said.

“Each community has a gift to offer to the others,” the pope said Jan. 25 at the end of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.

“The more we look beyond partisan interests and overcome the legacies of the past in the desire to move forward toward a common landing place, the more readily we will recognize, welcome and share these gifts,” he said in his homily during evening prayer at Rome’s Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls.

The service began with Pope Francis, Orthodox Metropolitan Gennadios of Italy and Anglican Archbishop Ian Ernest, director of the Anglican Centre in Rome, praying at the tomb of St. Paul and venerating the relics of the apostle’s friend and co-worker, St. Timothy.

The theme of the 2020 week was drawn from the account in the Acts of the Apostles of St. Paul being shipwrecked in Malta.

Although, as a prisoner, “he was among the most vulnerable” onboard, Pope Francis said, Paul offered words of hope to the others and advice based on his trust in God that none of them would lose their lives in the storm.

“This account from the Acts of the Apostles also speaks to our ecumenical journey toward that unity which God ardently desires,” Pope Francis said. For one thing, “it tells us that those who are weak and vulnerable, those who have little to offer materially but find their wealth in God, can present valuable messages for the good of all.”

The account of the shipwreck ends with praise for the hospitality the people and governor of Malta showed to St. Paul and the rest of their unexpected guests.

“From this Week of Prayer, we want to learn to be more hospitable, in the first place among ourselves as Christians and among our brothers and sisters of different confessions,” the pope said.