The Congregation of the Passion of Jesus Christ is celebrating, as far as possible due to the particular circumstances caused by the pandemic, its 300 years of life, since its foundation in 1720. On Sunday, November 22, the Jubilee Year will be inaugurated and will last until January 1, 2022.
The opening ceremony will take place in the Basilica of Saints John and Paul in Rome, with the opening of the Holy Door, followed by the celebration of the Eucharist. The ceremony will be presided over by the Vatican's Cardinal Secretary of State, Pietro Parolin. As is customary in this type of event, the ceremony will be broadcasted on streaming through the Facebook and Youtube channels "Passiochristi"and on the web page of the chain of Italian television TV2000.
"Renewing our mission: gratitude, prophecy and hope"
This will be the theme of the Passionist Jubilee: "Renewing our mission: gratitude, prophecy and hope". The Superior General, P. Joachim Regoexplains the spirit of the Jubilee celebrations as follows: ".They should aim to deepen our commitment to keep alive the Memory of the Passion of Jesus as the ultimate expression of God's love for all people and all creation and seek new ways to promote the Memory of the Lord's Passion." (Passionis Memory).
In November next year (November 21-24, 2021), Rome will be the venue for the International Congress "The wisdom of the cross in a pluralistic world"at the Lateran University. Apart from this, no other major events are planned.
The founder, moved to "to proclaim the love of the Crucified"
The starting date of the Jubilee, November 22, 1720, refers to the day on which the Jubilee began. Pablo Daneia young man of 26, abandoned his commercial activity and began a 40-day retreat in a cell in the Church of St. Charles in Castellazzo (Alessandria). During this time he wrote the rules of the future Congregation. He felt inspired to "to bring together partners to share and announce to the world the love of the Crucified One". The retreat ended on January 1, 1721. Hence the dates of the Passionist Jubilee: November 22, 1720 to January 1, 2022..
A few months later, in October, Paul went to Rome to present the Rules for the Pope's approval. But, having made a mess of things and without any official presentation, he was sent away from the papal palace. He seeks consolation before the image of Our Lady Salus Populi Romani(Salvation of the Roman people) in the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore. There he promises to make and help people to make Memory of the Passion of Jesus Christ. Twenty years later, he will have the joy of hearing the Pope say to him: "This Congregation is the last to be born, but it should have been the first.".
Paul was both a mystic and a man of action, a preacher and an exceptional spiritual father. He died in Rome in 1775.
A Jubilee with a mask
In the official communiqué, the Passionists state that ".will be a Jubilee with a mask, although we hope it will be only at the beginning. Although the virus has blocked or postponed pilgrimages and meetings of the Passionist family, the Jubilee keeps intact its value as an inner commitment to renew one's own life. In fact, the grace of the Jubilee is to enable a new beginning, a new opportunity for a full and fulfilled life. If the COVID-19 explosion has caused us to say that ".nothing will ever be the same"The Jubilee offers the energy for "nothing is the same as before"because everything will be renewed at the personal and social level, as Pope Francis wishes.".
The celebration of this Passionist Jubilee encourages all of us to reflecting on the Passion of Christas the ultimate expression of God's love for all humanity and the whole of creation.
About the Passionists
The Congregation of the Passion of Jesus Christ was founded in 1720 by Paul Danei, today St. Paul of the Crossa man inspired to heal the ills of the world by bearing witness and proclaiming that "....The Passion of Jesus is the greatest and most stupendous work of divine love.". The Passionists are a Missionary congregation. St. Paul of the Cross also founded the Passionist Nuns Congregation (contemplatives). Five other women's institutes and many lay movements are inspired by the charism of St. Paul of the Cross. Together they form the Passionist Family. In three centuries of life, the Congregation has given the Church many saints. Among them, in addition to the founder, the best known is the young San Gabriel de la Dolorosatogether with a large number of Blessed and Venerables. At present, the Passionists number 1903 religious, present in 63 countries on five continents.
The Holy Father Francis delivered an address on the occasion of the 2018 General Chapter of the Congregation. The Pope underlined something that can well apply to all of us:"in this time of change, which is more like a change of era, you are called to be attentive to the presence and the action of the Holy Spiritreading the signs of the times. New situations require new answers"as did the founder, St. Paul of the Cross.
