Vatican
City, 24 April 2013
(VIS) – A press conference was held this morning in the Holy See
Press Office to presentat the next two events scheduled for the Year
of Faith: the Day of Confirmands (27-28 April) and the Day of
Confraternities and Popular Piety (3-5 April). Participating in the
press conference were Archbishop Rino Fisichella and Bishop Jose
Octavio Ruiz Arena, respectively president and secretary of the
Pontifical Council for Promoting New Evangelisation.
Archbishop
Fisichella explained that the common denominator of the events, which
will take place in Rome with the Holy Father, will be “of
highlighting pilgrimage to the tomb of Peter. That is why, the day
before, the participants will take part in a symbolic procession from
the obelisk in St. Peter's Square to the tomb of the Apostle where
they will pray the Creed. Along the way there will be a brief
catechesis to recall the significance of the places that we find
ourselves at and their historic meaning for the faith.”
The
first event will take place this 27-28 April and will be dedicated to
all those who have or who will receive receive the Sacrament of
Confirmation this year. “Already more than 70,000 youth,
accompanied by their catechists and priests, have signed up. This
presence shows the enthusiasm with which they have joined in the
initiative and the great turn-out that we should expect.”
For
the first time, Pope Francis will confer the Sacrament of
Confirmation on 44 youth from around the world, symbolically
representing the entire Church. “They are youth,” the archbishop
said, “ who show the face of the Church there where people are
living and suffering, to give all hope and certainty for the future.”
But there will not just be youth in attendance since there is no
uniformity on the age at which to receive the Sacrament and the ages
of the confirmands who are coming stretches from 11 to 55.
The
second important event, which over 50,000 persons have already signed
up for, will take place from 3 to 5 May and will be dedicated to
popular piety. The Confraternities, particularly from the countries
where the tradition is strongest, will give witness to the different
local traditions that have resulted from a religiosity that has been
expressed through the centuries with initiatives and works of art
that have lasted to this day. The event's culminating moment will be
Mass celebrated by the Pope on Sunday at 10:00am in St. Peter's
Square.
It
will be “a moment of faith,” the prelate concluded, “that
finds, in the simplicity of the expressions of popular piety, its
most deep-rooted core in our people who live these signs
uninterruptedly as a reminder of the faith of previous generations
and as a tradition that should be witnessed to with courage and
enthusiasm.”
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