Press Conference for the presentation of the X World Meeting of Families, 30.09.2021
-Speech by His Eminence Cardinal Kevin Farrell
-Speech by the Most Eminent Cardinal Angelo De Donatis
-Speech by Prof. Gabriella Gambino
-Speech by Mons. Walter Insero
-Intervention by the Scifoni family
At 11.30 this morning, the Press Conference for the presentation of the X World Meeting of Families took place in live streaming from the Press Office of the Holy See, which will take place in Rome from 22 to 26 June 2022 on the theme “Family love: vocation and way of holiness ".
Speakers: Eminence Cardinal Kevin Farrell, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life; Eminence Cardinal Angelo De Donatis, Vicar General of His Holiness for the Diocese of Rome; Prof. Gabriella Gambino, Under-Secretary of the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life; Mons. Walter Insero, Director of the Social Communications Office of the Diocese of Rome; Giovanni and Elisabetta Scifoni, family representing the Diocese of Rome.
Present in the room were Mons. Marco Frisina, author of the hymn of the X World Meeting of Families and Father Marko Ivan Rupnik, who painted the image, symbol of the event.
Here are the interventions of the speakers:
Speech by His Eminence Cardinal Kevin Farrell
There are now only a few months left for the celebration of the X World Meeting of Families in Rome. The Holy Father has already announced that this edition will not take place in a single city, as it was in the past, but will be a "multicentric" and "widespread" event in dioceses all over the world.
In the week of June 22-26, 2022, the Pope will meet in Rome only the delegates of the Episcopal Conferences, Ecclesial Movements and family associations. But in those same days, all the families of the world will be able to participate in diocesan meetings, moments of celebration and the Holy Mass, which every bishop is invited to organize in his own diocese. Therefore, it will always be a world event, as in the past, but this time it will be experienced in the local churches present everywhere in the different continents. All together, in spiritual communion, but not all in the same place!
We must not see a limit in this new mode! On the contrary, it is a beautiful opportunity to make the families of every parish and diocese in the world reunite around their own bishop. Thus, not only the operators of the family pastoral care or families who have greater economic possibilities to travel, but a greater number of families will be able to participate in this important ecclesial event.
In fact, it is fundamental to involve families more if we want to give a new impetus to family ministry. Families cannot be seen only as a “land to be irrigated”, which passively receive speeches, teachings or pastoral initiatives “lowered from above”. Instead, they are the "seed" that can fertilize the world! They are the evangelizers! More than abstract discourses, in fact, it is the families themselves who testify to the world, in a real and credible way, the beauty of family love.
Our Dicastery, therefore, will encourage the bishops to adhere to the invitation of the Holy Father and to plan well both the journey of preparation for the event and the development of diocesan initiatives, which, as I have said, will take place simultaneously with the Meeting. of the Pope in Rome with the delegates. To this end, I recall the importance of making the most of the theme of the Encounter - Family love: vocation and way of holiness - and the symbols that have been chosen (prayer, logo, hymn and image).
Nine months separate us from the event: we have a propitious time, and still long enough, to include in the pastoral activities of each diocese some moments dedicated specifically to families.
The World Meeting of Families will conclude the “ Amoris Laetitia Family ” Year . Precisely on the occasion of this special year, many initiatives have already been taken by the Bishops' Conferences, by the dioceses and even by the families themselves, to find concrete ways of implementing the Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia. We have noticed that in many families there is a desire to walk together in this difficult time for everyone. We as Dicastery, and with us, many dioceses of the world, have noticed that the commitment in favor of families is well received and bears fruit. Families want to be accompanied, supported and "feel like a Church". Families are generous! When special pastoral care is dedicated to them, they are willing to make themselves available for the mission of the Church and to help other families.
Therefore, let us not lose this opportunity to consolidate our initiatives, and also to start new ones, together with the families entrusted to us.
[01302-EN.01] [Original text: Italian]
Speech by the Most Eminent Cardinal Angelo De Donatis
The Church of Rome is preparing with joy to welcome the delegates and participants in the X World Meeting of Families . The diocesan community welcomed with pleasure the invitation of our Bishop, Pope Francis and considers this appointment not only as an extraordinary event, but "a precious opportunity to devote ourselves enthusiastically to family ministry: spouses, families and pastors together".
During the long preparation phase, which began a little over three years ago, the methods of implementation and development of the event have undergone several variations and substantial changes, due to the pandemic.
We thank Pope Francis for this privileged opportunity which he offers to the city of Rome and to the whole world. It is undoubtedly "an opportunity for Providence to create a world event capable of involving all families who want to feel part of the ecclesial community".
Having chosen, as the main seat of the meeting , the city that preserves the memories of the Apostles Peter and Paul, highlights the original vocation of the Church of Rome which "presides over the communion of the Churches". The ecclesial community of Rome, in fact, will welcome the delegates of the family pastoral care of the world Bishops' Conferences to attend the meeting , in communion with the initiatives promoted at the local level by the other Churches.
In addition to the year dedicated to Amoris Laetitia , the preparation of the X World Meeting of Families coincides with the first stage of the synodal process in our diocesan Church (October 2021 - April 2022). Our ecclesial community, involved in the "dynamism of mutual listening", will privilege listening to families with the intention of "walking together" with the pastors, in the awareness that only by listening to ourselves, as the Holy Father reiterated, will we listen to the Spirit who speaks to the Church.
In this context, the diocese of Rome is working to ensure that all families in the world, especially those who will not be able to reach Rome, can equally participate in the meeting and live this extraordinary experience of faith.
In conjunction with the preparation and holding of the World Meeting of Families , the ecclesial community of Rome will continue to support some initiatives of the diocesan Caritas , already present in the area, in favor of families in difficulty. It will be a question of expressing feelings of solidarity and assistance towards some families who, also because of the pandemic situation, are in conditions of poverty.
Among the solidarity projects that we intend to support, in particular, on the occasion of this great world event, I point out the Emporio della Solidarity Santa Giacinta , located inside the Cittadella della Carità in via Casilina Vecchia, a real supermarket, where needy families can do their shopping for free. Again, the House of the Immaculate Conception , in Alessandria, which welcomes mothers and children without a home, help, and sustenance; and Casa Wanda , inside the Villa Glori Park, where elderly people with Alzheimer's live and where their families are also supported.
I am sure that this meeting , presided over by our Bishop, Pope Francis, will represent an event of grace and communion for families, in our diocesan Church and in the other Churches spread throughout the Earth.
[01301-EN.01] [Original text: Italian]
Speech by Prof. Gabriella Gambino
I would like to give some practical information for the preparation and conduct of the X World Meeting of Families.
As for the event to be held in Rome, the pastoral congress and the festival will take place in the Paul VI Hall. Approximately 2,000 delegates will be able to participate (including many families), who will be invited directly by the Bishops' Conferences and by the heads of family associations and international ecclesial movements. The number of delegates for each episcopal conference will be proportional to the size of the episcopal conference itself. A predetermined number of delegates will also be provided for movements and associations. This number will be communicated to them directly by our Dicastery in the coming weeks, so that each Conference and movement can begin to identify its own delegates.
Instead, we will send directly to the bishops in dioceses around the world suggestions for organizing the event, for the first time, at the local level. We realize that it is not easy to take the initiative, especially in some geographical areas and in some particular pastoral situations, but we encourage everyone to try to involve families in this adventure. Many families wish to participate and would like to be involved even only at the diocesan level.
In the dioceses, the meetings can be set up starting from the theme chosen by the Holy Father, which constitutes the basis from which the 7 catecheses originated which, shortly, will be published by the Diocese of Rome in 5 languages and will be available to the whole world. . These catecheses constitute in themselves a journey of preparation for the meetings to be held both in Rome and in the individual dioceses.
The pastoral congress in Rome will be structured as follows: Wednesday 22 June, in the afternoon, there will be the Festival with the testimonies of the families, in the presence of the Holy Father; Thursday 23, Friday 24 and Saturday 25 morning, the pastoral congress, which will include Eucharistic celebrations and adoration, pastoral conferences and panels to dialogue pastoral experiences from all over the world. On Saturday afternoon there will be Holy Mass in St. Peter's Square, which, in addition to including the invited delegates, will be a moment open especially to families of the diocese of Rome, who will be able to gather around their bishop, the Holy Father. Everyone, of course, will be able to follow the week in streamingand partly also on television. The choice of Mass on Saturday afternoon was made to allow families in the rest of the world to celebrate with their bishop on Sunday. The program will end on Sunday morning with the Angelus with the Holy Father in St. Peter's Square.
Families, in every continent, from home, with a computer or smartphone , will have the opportunity to participate remotely with a special registration method, both in the preparation process - in the course of the next few months, in fact, once registered, they will receive information on the pastoral tools that will gradually be made available by our Dicastery - both by following in direct digital mode the Meeting in Rome in the week from 22 to 26 June 2022.
[01303-EN.01] [Original text: Italian]
One of the main challenges will consist not only in enhancing communication, but in encouraging social participation in this event, in response to the invitation of the Holy Father: "Everyone will be able to participate, even those who cannot come to Rome".
Families from every continent, in addition to face-to-face meetings organized locally, will have the opportunity to feel close by following the World Meeting in Rome with their computer or smartphone . The preparation process will also be made available to everyone in digital mode, thanks to the website www.romefamily2022.com . Thousands of participants will therefore be added to the delegates gathered in attendance.
All moments of the World Meeting can be followed in streaming on social channels. The inaugural meeting with the Pope, that is, the Festival of Families on 22 June 2022 in the Paul VI Hall, will be broadcast worldwide, as will the Holy Mass on Saturday 25 June afternoon with all the families of Rome in St. Peter's Square, and the Angelus the next day with the mandate to families from all over the world.
The website, in these months of rapprochement, will mainly serve to disseminate content that can help dioceses, movements, associations, to organize events, reflections and meetings in local communities. There will be a space for the seven catecheses, which will be published progressively, to which videos with testimonies will be linked. A section of the site is dedicated to collecting the materials produced by the Diocese of Rome and the Dicastery, available to all and downloadable for free: logos, videos, texts, suggestions. Another section is reserved for concrete help to the three Roman projects that support families in difficulty, of which Cardinal De Donatis spoke earlier.
As regards the Social strategy, we have opted for an approach suited to the widespread and multicentric mode. The goal is to involve as many social profiles as possible to share our hashtag # wmof22 with them and thus spread our content. Among these, in addition to the videos that will address the themes of catechesis, there will be some interviews with Roman families, testimonies of families from other continents, some stories of holy families, etc.
We will strive to be truly close to everyone, especially to those who for various reasons cannot move, aware that, as the Holy Father says, "the network with its countless social expressions can multiply the ability to tell and share" (Message for World Communications Day 2021).
[01304-EN.01] [Original text: Italian]
Intervention by the Scifoni family
It is an honor to witness this event and represent all Roman families. We live these months that separate us from the World Meeting of Families with a sense of joyful expectation, of trepidation. We know that something beautiful is about to happen, for us, for Rome, for the whole world. Intense, rich, even tiring but certainly exciting days await us, together with our beloved Pope.
We are spiritually preparing for the June 2022 appointment thanks to some tools that the Diocese of Rome and the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life have prepared and then donated to all families.
First of all, prayer. It was conceived as a pastoral tool; it can be recited at home, between parents, together with their children; it will also be used in the parish for meetings of groups, movements and communities. It is a way to thank the Father for the great gift of the family. The full text is available on the website, in several languages.
The Diocese has also prepared a beautiful image that will be the symbol of the event. It is not an icon in the strict sense of the term, but a painting. It was created by Father Marko Ivan Rupnik, Jesuit, artist and theologian, director of the Atelier of Art and Architecture of the Aletti Center. The title is: "This mystery is great". Warm colors dominate, the size is 80x80. In the background we see the famous episode of the wedding at Cana in Galilee (Jn 2, 1-11), where Jesus performs his first miracle, changing water into wine. On the left the spouses appear covered by a veil, while the servant who pours the wine has, according to ancient Christian iconography, the face with the features of Saint Paul, Apostle of the Gentiles. It is precisely he, Paul, in the light of Christian Revelation, who removes the veil with his hand and, indicating the union between Mary and Christ, exclaims: «This mystery is great; I say this in reference to Christ and the Church! " (Eph 5:32).
And then we have the hymn entitled “We believe in love” . The text and the music were composed by Monsignor Marco Frisina. The passage clearly takes up the theme of family love, the central topic of the World Meeting in June. In the passage, the great mystery of the eternal wedding of Christ the bridegroom and of His Church is highlighted. The family, despite its difficulties, however, has the power to shake every heart by bearing witness to the Cross as salvation. In fact, in the passage there are some touching definitions of the family, such as, for example, a fertile womb of beauty, life and joy; school of love, light and hope for the world. The family truly has the task of revealing the face of the Creator to the world.
To help us further in the preparation of the event, a video clip of the hymn was also made . It was shot by the director Luigi Pingitore, who, wandering around our city, told the expectation of Rome through images of a splendor that spans the centuries. Not only. The journey made by the director, from the center to the suburbs, reveals the beauty of the family relationships that animate the life of the city. In fact, in addition to the choir and Rome, the protagonist is a family that lives its daily life between faith, work and various commitments. But it is useless to use other words, let's see it together ...
[01322-EN.01] [Original text: Italian]
Source: https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2021/09/30/0614/01302.html
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