Pentecostality as an Ecumenical Link: Francis’s Legacy and the Reconfiguration of the Dialogue between Catholics and Pentecostals

Abstract

The article examines Pope Francis’s theological legacy and his contribution to bringing the Catholic Church and the Pentecostal movement closer together. It starts from a diagnosis of historical barriers—proselytism and institutional indifference—that have consolidated a competitive relationship. The objective is to investigate how the “Culture of Encounter” and the category of “Pentecostality” offer keys to understanding Christian unity. It supports the hypothesis that Francis’ pontificate promoted a “prophetic shift,” reorienting ecumenism from formal dogmatics to spiritual ecumenism, in which the experience of Baptism in the Holy Spirit can function as a shared foundation for communion. Methodologically, qualitative bibliographic-documentary research is carried out, articulating recent magisterium with contemporary initiatives for unity. It is concluded that unity is understood as a process of “walking together” in which fraternity and social friendship precede and sustain theological dialogue.

Keywords: Pope Francis. Ecumenism. Pentecostality. Culture of Encounter. Catholic-Pentecostal Dialogue.