Friday 22 April marks the official two month countdown to the 10th World Meeting of Families which will take place in Rome from 22 – 26 June.
Pope Francis is urging Catholics around the globe to take part in the 10th edition of the event. In a video message the Pope said a new format is being planned for the WMOF event, which will have its focus on Rome but be held throughout the world.
“After being postponed for a year due to the pandemic, the desire to meet again is great,” said the Holy Father.
From local to worldwide
He pointed out that past meetings were small events, which were perceived by many families as “something remote, at most followed on television, and unknown to the majority of families.”
Responding to this situation, Pope Francis said the WMOF2022 will take on a special format.
After more than a year of remote working and learning, along with increased awareness of online tools, the meeting will be updated to allow more people to participate, despite physical distance.
“It will be an opportunity provided by Providence to create a worldwide event that can involve all the families that would like to feel part of the ecclesial community,” said the Pope.
“Rome will be the main venue,” said Pope Francis, “and there will be a number of delegates of family pastoral care participating in the Festival of Families, the Pastoral Congress, and the Holy Mass.”
He added that these events will be broadcast throughout the globe.
Pastoral Kit for the WMOF2022
The Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life has made available a Pastoral Kit for dioceses and parishes to assist with the local celebration of the 10th World Meeting of Families. As numbers going to Rome for the event are restricted due to the pandemic, Pope Francis has asked that families around the world be given opportunities to feel part of the gathering through events held locally and by engaging with the events in Rome which will all be live-streamed.
The pastoral kit which offers a step by step guide to celebrating the event, can be downloaded here with lots of additional materials available on www.laityfamilylife.va.
Official Prayer
As the two month countdown begins families and parishes are being encouraged to say the prayer which is inspired by the theme chosen by Pope Francis for the meeting: “Family love: a vocation and a path to holiness”. The prayer is intended to be a pastoral tool: it can be prayed from now on in parishes, in communities, at home, to help with preparation for the event.
Family Love: Vocation and Path to Holiness
Heavenly Father,
We come before You to praise You
and to thank You for the great gift of the family.
We pray to You for all families
consecrated by the Sacrament of Matrimony.
May they rediscover each day
the grace they have received,
and as small domestic Churches,
may they know how to witness to Your presence
and to the love with which Christ loves the Church.
We pray to You for all families faced with difficulty and suffering
caused by illness or circumstances of which only You know.
Sustain them and make them aware
of the path to holiness upon which You call them,
so that they might experience Your infinite mercy
and find new ways to grow in love.
We pray to You for children and young people:
may they encounter You and respond joyfully
to the vocation You have in mind for them;
We pray for parents and grandparents: may they be aware
that they are signs of the fatherhood and motherhood of God
in caring for the children who, in body and spirit, You entrust to them;
and for the experience of fraternity
that the family can give to the world.
Lord, grant that each family
might live their specific vocation to holiness in the Church
as a call to become missionary disciples,
in the service of life and peace,
in communion with our priests, religious,
and all vocations in the Church.
Bless the World Meeting of Families.
Amen.
For more on the World Meeting of Families 2022 see www.romefamily2022.com/en/
ENDS
