Pope Francis has sent a message to the Methodist and Waldensian (Valdese) churches on occasion of their 24-29 August Synod in Torre Pellice, Turin, Italy. The telegram, signed by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin on behalf of the Holy Father, offers the Pope’s “fraternal” welcome and assures participants of his spiritual closeness as they undertake their discussions, Vatican Radio reports. The message says the Holy Father “prays that the Lord, through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, grant to all Christians progress on the path towards full communion, to witness to the Lord Jesus Christ and to offer the light and strength of His Gospel to the men and women of our time.”The Union of Methodist and Waldensian Churches is an Italian united church, founded in 1975 upon the union of the Waldensian Evangelical Church (a reformed church with pre-Lutheran roots) and the Italian Methodist.