|TOP|The President of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, has announced that he will address the World Council of Churches (WCC), when it opens its Assembly in Porto Alergre next week.

The Brazilian President has reportedly spoken to the new General Secretary of the National Council of Churches in Brazil (CONIC), Rev Western Clay Peixoto earlier this week, and revealed his intention to attend the gathering, which will see more than 4,000 delegates unite.

If the schedule remains the same then President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will make his speech on Friday Feb 17th.

The World Council of Churches Assembly only gathers once every seven years approximately, and unites to represent the world’s largest grouping of Christian churches.

Delegates are set to gather from more than 120 countries across the globe, and will be representing a combined total of about 500 million people.

|AD|Although the Roman Catholic Church is not an official member of the WCC, it does offer its cooperation with the body on a number of landmark projects, and also serves on some of the committees, report the Church Times.

In addition, the Assembly will be held at the Pontifical University of Rio Grande do Sul, which is a Roman Catholic institution, and will operate under the theme ‘God, in your grace, transform the world’.

The WCC have testified that the Assembly will go towards supporting the motion that “A world without poverty is not only possible, but is in keeping with the grace of God for the world.”

At the event it is scheduled for speakers to suggest how the values of prayer and transformation can be applied to the delegates and their constituencies.

Rev Samuel Kobia, the General Secretary of the WCC said that the 21st Century has been marked by destructive power and has disgraced human dignity, reports Ecumenical News International.

It is hoped that the Assembly will “mark the beginning of a new phase in the search for Christian unity.”