Father Raniero Cantalamessa, Preacher to the Papal Household for the last 27 years, has spoken of his admiration for the Alpha course in a video filmed earlier this year during a visit to Holy Trinity Brompton.

Father Raniero, a Franciscan Capuchin Catholic priest, spoke of the course’s success at ‘making people interested in faith’.

He says in the film, which is being used to promote Alpha further around the world, ‘I am very positive about what Alpha does.

‘We in the Catholic Church have many similar, not identical, initiatives for spreading the word to modern people but, in my opinion, Alpha accomplishes an incredible task in making people interested in faith – making faith relevant for the modern man.

‘This is very important. This is why I am completely in favour and admire what you do with the Alpha course and whenever I have the opportunity I encourage [church leaders] as I did lately in the United States, meeting wonderful people working for Alpha course.’

He also spoke of the way that the Alpha course is working with all the denominations. He said, ‘What I appreciate especially is this ecumenical spirit which is in Alpha courses – no pressure on anybody to join a different denomination but just to join Jesus, to put Jesus at the centre.’

He spoke of how the main Christian denominations have much in common. He said, ‘I think that if we look at the modern world around us which has become so secularised, so mindless about Jesus, and about God – to quarrel amongst ourselves, amongst Orthodox, Protestants and Catholics, I think, is something out of date, obselete.

‘Maybe in the past we could quarrel because all the world was Christian and the differences, they meant very much.

‘But nowadays the world is no longer Christian. We are the minority and in front of the world our differences are very insignificant (although for us they are important).

‘This is why we should put together what we have in common and give a shared testimony of Jesus.’

He spoke warmly of those who think of themselves as seekers. ‘A desire to believe is already a kind of belief,’ he said. ‘And once a person is sincere, God has a way of revealing himself to him or to her in some way at some time.

‘The first step for these people would be to read the Bible, to try to meet some people who are believing and just be free to listen, to accept or to reject... but to expose yourself to the possibility of God speaking to you. Unless you give a chance to God to speak to you, you are always distracted.’