In a packed St Albans Cathedral on Sunday night, the Bishop of St Albans, the Rt Rev Christopher Herbert, signed a historic agreement creating a friendship between the Diocese of St Albans and three Italian dioceses.

The agreement, also signed by the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Pesaro, the Most Rev Piero Coccia, will connect Church of England churches in Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Luton and north Barnet with churches in the Italian Dioceses of Fano, Pesaro and Urbino in The Marche region.

The agreement cements six years of friendship which began as a spin-off from discussions between a St Albans District Councillor, Brian Peyton, and authorities in Fano about civic twinning arrangements.

Coming to learn of the discussions, the late Bishop of Fano, the Rt Rev Vittorio Thomassetti, asked for a message to be conveyed to the Bishop of St Abans that he would also be interested in creating a relationship between churches in the two regions.

Both bishops pursued and invested in this friendship, leading to Sunday's signing. Sadly, Bishop Tomassetti died less than three weeks ago but knew of the historic step that was about to be taken.

Bishop Herbert related this story to a packed cathedral on Sunday night, during St Albans Diocese's celebration of 100 years of the annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.

The Bishop and the Archbishop then signed the agreement which commits the two churches to the development of mutual respect and understanding, to deepening their companionship in Christ and proclaiming the Gospel.

Bishop Herbert added: "Our friendship is a joy and to me a real sign of the progress that continues to be made towards greater Christian unity.

"It operates at all levels within the Church and means that there is a true bond developing between people here and people in Fano, Pesaro and Urbino. This is not textbook unity: this is a practical step."

Also present at the service was the Rt Rev Martin Lind, Bishop of Linkoping, Sweden, with which St Albans also has ecumenical ties of friendship.

The agreement comes as the Church of England appoints a representative to the EU institutions, the Rev Gary Wilton, currently a member of the theology department at York St John's University.

Bishop Herbert, who chairs the House of Bishops Europe Panel, welcomed the appointment, saying: "It is really good to have been able to appoint Gary Wilton to this new post.

"The Church of England must continue to increase its role in Europe in partnership with other churches so that together we can play our part in helping to shape the Europe of the future."