The pontiff called for prayer comes as the Most Rev. Hyginus Kim Heejoong, the president of the Committee for Promoting Christian Unity & Interreligious Dialogue of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea(CBCK), issued a message urging both Roman Catholics and Protestants to join together in a prayer of unity.
"The Catholic Church and the Protestant Church, which are both on the journey to the unity, must perceive that they are called to be the community of common prayer, before they begin to dispute about the different doctrines between them," he said.
"All Christians must understand that the unity is a grace of God and they have to persistently pray for this grace especially in this week of prayer for Christian unity."
The theme for the 2008 celebration would be to 'Pray Without Ceasing,' where the pontiff in his weekly message urged listeners to pray to God 'insistently' for His grace of unity to be given to all of the Lord's disciples.
"Yes, it is necessary to pray without ceasing, asking God with insistence for the great gift of unity among all the Lord's disciples," he said.
"May the inexhaustible force of the Holy Spirit move us to a sincere commitment to the search for unity so that we can all profess together that Jesus is the one Saviour of the world."
Pope Benedict XVI will begin the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity by presiding at the celebration of vespers at the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls.