As a Mercy Missionary, most of my days are spent on the streets of Portland, sharing meals, listening to stories, and encountering Christ in our friends without homes. I’ve learned so much about God’s mercy from these encounters. The Lord constantly surprises me in the way He shows up in brokenness, in laughter, in community.

But recently, the Lord stirred a different desire in my heart.

With the conclave heavy on everyone’s minds, I felt the need to gather some good men together, not for a formal study or debate, but simply to pray. To pray as brothers for the Church, to talk openly about what’s unfolding, and to remind ourselves that we are all part of the Body of Christ, even in moments of great transition.

So I invited a few men to a small pre-conclave gathering. We started simply:

What is the conclave?
What does the Church need in this moment?
What are some intentions we can bring to prayer?
Who are the men who could be called to serve as the next Vicarius Christi—Christ’s representative on earth?

Of course, we didn’t come to a single conclusion on who we thought should be Pope (no surprise there!). But that wasn’t really the point.

What we did discover was something far more meaningful: a shared longing to pray with greater conviction and deeper intention, not just for this conclave, but for the Church as a whole.

We want to keep meeting. Keep discerning. Keep lifting the Church and her needs to the Lord in a spirit of unity and humility. We believe the Holy Spirit still guides, still breathes, still acts in and through the Church.

And while my missionary heart will always be deeply tied to the streets, to the people whose names I’ve come to know and love, this experience showed me another side of mission: helping others carry the burden of prayer for the Church we all call home.

~Michael Ivezic

Gathering Hearts for the Church