Vatican City, 16 September 2014 (VIS) –
This morning in the Holy See Press Office, Archbishops Vincenzo
Paglia, president of the Pontifical Council for the Family and
Charles Joseph Chaput, O.F.M. Cap., of Philadelphia, U.S.A.,
presented the World Meeting of Families on the theme “Love is our
mission: the family fully alive”, which will take place in the
North American city from 22 to 27 September 2015.
In his presentation Archbishop Chaput
commented on Philadelphia's deep religious roots and expressed his
hope that Pope Francis may be present at next year's meeting, at
which between ten and fifteen thousand people from all over the world
are expected to attend. He also explained that the theme of the
Meeting was based on St. Irenaeus' famous words, “the Glory of God
is man fully alive”. “In like manner, the glory of men and women
is their capacity to love as God loves. Life in a family is a summons
to embody that love in everyday life”.
The event in Philadelphia will be
accompanied by an official document, a catechesis that “will help
parish and diocesan leaders, catechists and other interested persons
prepare Catholics across the globe for next year's meeting. … It
develops its teaching in ten simple steps. It starts with the purpose
of our creation and moves into the nature of our sexuality; the
covenant of marriage; the importance of children; the place of
priesthood and religious life in the ecology of the Christian
community; the Christian home as a refuge for the wounded heart; the
role of the Church; and the missionary witness of Christian families
to the wider world”.
“The text gives us a foundation for
all of the different programming that will go into the World Meeting
of Families”, continued Archbishop Chaput, “from major talks, to
panels and breakout sessions, to family entertainment throughout the
event. The text is currently available in English and Spanish.
Portuguese, French and other language editions are planned this fall
through the efforts of the Pontifical Council for the Family. The
catechesis also includes the special prayer we commissioned to
prepare for the 2015 gathering”.
In addition, a specially-commissioned
oil painting will be displayed in Philadelphia's Cathedral Basilica
of Sts. Peter and Paul throughout the World Meeting. By the artist
Neil Carlin, it represents the Holy Family – Jesus, Mary and Joseph
– along with Mary's parents, Sts. Anne and Joachim. “They are a
reminder that, today and throughout history, the Christian family
includes both the young and the elderly; it reaches beyond parents
and child to include grandparents and many other extended relations”.
Archbishop Paglia presented the events
that will be organised by his dicastery this year and the next, in
relation to the theme of the family. On 18 September, with the
collaboration of Caritas International, a seminar will be held on
“Family and poverty”, in which it 150 experts on the theme are
expected to participate. On 28 September, with the theme “The
blessing of longevity”, the elderly and grandparents will meet with
Pope Francis in St. Peter's Square. From 22 to 24 January 2015, an
international congress of associations, movements and groups for the
family and for life will meet with the aim of “Reviewing together
the Extraordinary Synod on the Family”, and on 24 March,
anniversary of the publication of St. John Paul II's encyclical
“Evangelium vitae”, a prayer vigil will be held in the Roman
basilica of St. Mary Major.
Finally, the president of the
Pontifical Council for the Family reported that every day until the
opening of the Synod (5 October) on the site www.familia.va, there
will be a special edition of “Jarà – the spectacle of life”,
which will present through words and images the main themes of the
Synod and explain how they figure in the Instrumentum Laboris. During
the assembly there will be a weekly note presenting and summarising
the work of the Synod fathers. All this will be supplemented with
exclusive interviews with bishops and experts.
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