PRESENTATION OF "EXPO MISSIO 2000"

VATICAN CITY, JUN 8, 2000 (VIS) - This morning in the Holy See Press Office there was the official presentation of "Expo Missio 2000," an exhibit which opens tomorrow and runs to January 6, 2001, at the Abbey of The Three Fountains in Rome, the site of St. Paul's martyrdom.

The text of the speech by Cardinal Roger Etchegaray, president of the central Jubilee committee, who was absent at the start of the conference, was read by Fr. Giordano Rigamonti, secretary general of Expo Missio 2000. The text explained that multimedia materials were used in the exhibit, part of which takes place outside, "to excite the visitor's interest" in the three distinct parts: the exposition, animation and actuality of mission.

Cardinal Jozef Tomko, prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, explained these three parts. The first, he said, "emerges the visitor in the variety of peoples and in the religious path of humanity." The second part, he said, is the "heart" of the exhibit, showing the visitor that "Christ is the Alpha and the Omega, the juncture of the expectations of all mankind and the departure point for the new life that believers and the Church all wish to live and propose to the world." The third part "illustrates the historical path of the Church as well as her commitment today" and "shows the many ways in which the Church can do missionary work." As visitors exit the expo, he said, they go to the site of Paul's martyrdom.

"The first part," said Cardinal Etchegaray's speech, "could appear as the most important because it is the most eye-catching because of the area covered - 40,000 square meters - and the distance - over a kilometer. But the second part is its essence or soul. Every day 50 missionaries of various ages will be present to welcome and accompany the pilgrims, establishing a personal contact with them. Mission, in fact, is life and life is transmitted through human relations and the sharing of faith."
Cardinal Tomko summarizes Expo Missio 2000, saying "it presents a modern-day concept of the missionary work undertaken by the Church for 2000 years. ... Expo Missio 2000 is not the usual exposition of the various ethnic groups of the world, of their customs, clothes, tools, masks and the like, accompanied by photographs of missionaries and their work. ... This Expo is rather an itinerary, a path which physically involves pilgrims ... and visibly guides them from the world from which they come through the three principal stages."

Archbishop Cesare Nosiglia, vicegerent of the diocese of Rome, indicated that entry to the exhibition is free and that, above all, the visit is a spiritual and cultural "pilgrimage" in which "there are significant stages and moments, both communal and of interpersonal dialogue with the missionaries themselves."

The aim of the exhibition is to "help pilgrims to ask themselves a profound question: What must I, as a Christian, do every day to announce the Lord and live the faith in Him, in my own life, towards every individual and, broadening the horizon, in the entire world where so many still do not know the true God and Jesus Christ who was sent by Him?"

Fr. Franco Cagnasso, coordinator of Expo Missio 2000, said that during the seven months it will remain open, male and female missionaries will hold meetings, conferences and debates, both for and with visitors. Every day after closing, there will be a moment of prayer with the monks of the abbey."

In addition, Fr. Cagnasso announced other scheduled events: two evenings of music and witness during World Youth Day, meetings of continental regions and meetings of missionary families. On January 1, 2001, on the initiative of various religious groups, the "March of Religions for Peace," will take place, in which participants will march and pray in Rome for peace in the world.

OP;EXPO MISSIO;...;ETCHEGARAY; TOMKO;VIS;20000608;Word: 640;