Who takes care of the family?"It is the year to revalue the beauty of marriage and the Christian family."V Encuentro boosts Hispanic families, the 40 % of Catholics in the U.S.Gabriella Gambino, Undersecretary of the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life; Dr. Leonardo Nepi, official of the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life; Mons. Leonardo Nepi, official of the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life; Monsignor Walter Insero, Director of the Office of Social Communications of the Diocese of Rome; Amadeus Sebastiani and Giovanna Civitillo, spouses, presenters of the Festival of Families (connected remotely); Gigi De Palo and Anna Chiara Gambini, spouses, representatives of the Family Pastoral Care of the Diocese of Rome.
During the conference, a video was shown with a greeting from Il Volo, the musical group formed by Piero Barone, Ignazio Boschetto and Gianluca Ginoble.
Gambino listed the themes of the Pastoral Congress that emerged from the comparison between the bishops of the world: the co-responsibility of spouses and priests; the difficulties of families; marriage preparation; the existential peripheries; the formation of formators; the role of encounter and listening.
A varied and enriching program
Thirty speeches are scheduled, with a total of 62 speakers and 13 moderators for the sessions.
Thanks to the solidarity fund of the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life, the Bishops' Conferences that have asked for financial support to send a delegation to Rome will be able to participate. Among them, also Ukraine with two delegations.
The 10th World Meeting of Families, as announced by Pope Francis in a video message, will have different characteristics from the events of previous years. The event, postponed for a year because of the pandemic, cannot, however, ignore the change in the global context due to the health situation. For this reason, the main event will take place in Rome. Delegates from Bishops' Conferences around the world will participate, as well as representatives of international movements involved in family pastoral care. At the same time, each diocese is invited to organize similar events in their own local communities.
"In the previous Meetings - said the Pope in the video message - most families stayed at home and the Meeting was perceived as a distant reality, at most followed on television, or unknown to most families. This time, it will have an unprecedented formula: it will be an opportunity of Providence to hold a worldwide event capable of involving all families who want to feel part of the ecclesial community".
Therefore, the World Meeting will be held in two parallel ways. Rome will remain the main venue, the Festival of Families and the Theological-Pastoral Congress will take place in the Paul VI Hall. The Mass will be celebrated by the Pope in St. Peter's Square.
A marriage at the altars
"It is with great joy that I announce to you, in agreement with the Dicastery for the Laity, the Family and Life, that Blessed Luigi and Maria Beltrame Quattrocchi will be the patrons of the 10th World Meeting of Families, which will take place in Rome from June 22-26, 2022." This was written in a letter to the Diocese of Rome by Cardinal Vicar Angelo De Donatis. The Beltrame Quattrocchi were the first couple to be beatified by the Catholic Church, on October 21, 2001, under the pontificate of John Paul II in St. Peter's Basilica, in the presence of their children Tarcisio, Paolo and Enrichetta. "The story of the whole family, who spent most of their lives in Rome, remains today," De Donatis stressed, "an authentic, credible and timely testimony of married love. Their marriage, celebrated on November 25, 1905 in the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, was lived in a constant journey of spiritual growth."
There were four children who graced their marriage and whom the couple, animated by a lively faith, educated in the Gospel from an early age. The first three embraced the consecrated life: Filippo became a Benedictine monk under the name of Don Tarcisio; Stefania entered the Benedictine monastery of the Blessed Sacrament in Milan and took the name of Sister Cecilia; and Cesare, who became a Trappist father under the name of Paolino, is a candidate for the altars. The youngest daughter, Enrichetta, a consecrated laywoman declared Venerable by Pope Francis on August 30, 2021, spent her life always at her parents' side, in persevering prayer, consecrating herself to the Lord in the service of her neighbor.
"To the Beltrame Quattrocchi couple - the Pope's Vicar for the Diocese of Rome concludes the letter - belongs also the merit of having created the first experience of vocational itineraries to help young people understand the beauty and importance of the sacrament of marriage or to guide them towards the choice of consecrated life. In fact, they were the initiators of the Family Pastoral in the Diocese of Rome. I encourage you to embrace the example and witness of the Beltrame Quattrocchi family, which embodies the theme of the next World Meeting of Families, "Family love, vocation and path to holiness".. Edified by their witness of faith, we entrust to Blessed Louis and Blessed Mary all the families of the world, especially those wounded and in difficulty, tested by poverty, sickness and war. To their intercession we entrust the preparation and celebration of the Meeting and the copious spiritual fruits that the Lord, through this ecclesial event, will grant. May Our Lady of Divine Love, in whose Shrine the remains of the Blessed rest, watch over the families of the world with the care and tenderness with which she watched over the Family of Nazareth".
https://www.romefamily2022.com/es/ is the website of the Meeting, where you can find all the updated information.
