Church support for 4 million people in Xtantos 2023 campaignThe Spanish Episcopal Conference prepares a major vocations congressOn October 24, in the morning of October 24, the Spanish Episcopal Conference the diocesan Church Day campaign. This year vocations occupy a central role, so the motto chosen by the Secretariat for Church Support is "What if what you are looking for is within you?".
Vicente Rebollo, bishop of Tarazona and member of the secretariat; José María Albalad, director of this commission; and José Gabriel Vera, director of the information office of the Episcopal Conference.
Bishop Rebollo explained that this year's campaign is "focused on vocations," in line with the vocations congress to be held in February 2025. In addition, the goal for 2024 is to encourage all the Catholic faithful to "move forward in the co-responsibility and synodality", thus showing that the campaign "is a good thing for the Church and for society".
Thirsty society
With the materials published by the secretariat, the Spanish Church wants to respond to the needs of a "society thirsty for a full life and existential voids". It is this society that the Church "is ready to welcome and serve".
In this line is the slogan of the campaign, which wants to put the focus on the fact that although "there are many empty lives, God can fill them all". To demonstrate this, the diocesan Church Day campaign shows the search of seven different people, who end up finding in their vocation "a unique gift from God" that makes them happy. As José María Albalad affirmed, "listening to God's call transforms one's whole existence," not only the personal, but also the ecclesial. In the words of the director of the secretariat, "living one's vocation has a direct impact on the support of the Church".
Vocations as possibilities
However, at the press conference, they emphasized that they have not carried out "a vocational campaign", but rather a display of "a range of possibilities for each baptized person to assume his or her own life mission".
On the economic front, the Page The secretariat's website offers financial data for 2023 broken down by diocese. In addition, on the website you can find several resources to prepare for the diocesan Church Day (November 10).
