Pastoral care of priestly vocationsDiocesan Church Day campaign focuses on vocationsVocations from here and there: a constant need in the ChurchFrom February 7 to 9, the Spanish Episcopal Conference will hold a large vocations congress. The initiative is entitled "Who am I for? The Church, an assembly of those called for mission". Monsignor Luis Argüello, President of the Episcopal Conference and head of the Vocations Pastoral Service, explained at a press conference the framework of the congress, which aims to move away from the proposal of individualistic autonomy characteristic of modernity (expressed in Descartes' famous "I think, therefore I am"), to an invitation to consider life as a "call" that gives meaning and fullness to life.
The congress will take place at the Madrid Arena Pavilion and is expected to gather 3,200 participants and 300 speakers, between general sessions and the different workshops that will be offered. It will also be possible to follow it live on social networks.
All the realities present in the Church in Spain will participate: dioceses, consecrated life and movements; priests and laity; and, of course, families. The event is being organized by the "Vocational Pastoral Service" of the Spanish Episcopal Conference, which integrates the Episcopal Commissions of Laity, Family and Life, Missions, Consecrated Life, Clergy and Seminaries, with the collaboration of CONFER and CEDIS.
Vocation to marriage
Argüello stressed that it is precisely the marriage vocation that is most in crisis in our country, although he pointed out that he is also concerned about vocations to the priesthood and religious life.
The promotional video of the congress puts special focus on the married lifeThe program, of course, also includes images of priests and consecrated women. Argüello commented that, when they presented this initiative to Pope Francis, it was the pontiff himself who stressed the importance of family and marriage life and encouraged the promotion of this pastoral.
Objectives of the congress
The genesis of this congress dates back to the year 2020, when another one was held called "People of God on the Way Out". On that occasion, the need to hold in the near future a great ecclesial meeting to promote vocational pastoral work in Spain was seen. This is the origin of the new convocation that will take place in 2025, For whom I am. The great objective of this Congress is to celebrate a great feast of the Church that shows her as an "assembly of the called", for that is what the word Church ("Ecclesia") means: an assembly of the called.
The second major objective of the Congress is to promote and consolidate in each diocese a service that encourages life lived as a vocation and promotes the different vocational paths. To ensure this goal, one of the three commissions that have been set up for the event will help the dioceses to implement the new developments that will arise during these days.
Dimensions of the congress
The congress will be articulated in three dimensions: an anthropological one, an ecclesial one and a third one that will show the social dimension of personal vocation.
Argüello has pointed out how the Dana tragedy has highlighted the generosity of young people to help. He added that the paradigm of autonomous individualism is very poor in comparison to life as a gift for others. Understanding life as a gift responds to the truth of man and allows us to discover the meaning of life.
Ecclesially speaking, Argüello recalled that in the Church we are in an era of synodality, which helps to understand how all vocations are important and necessary, since the Church is a communion whose union is born of the Eucharist.
The third dimension of the congress tries to show the consequences of the anthropological proposal of the Church for the whole of society. Its effects are not only seen in initiatives such as Caritas, but also in the fact that a fruitful married life is decisive in alleviating the demographic problem, and a good education of children is very positive for society as a whole. Argüello urged us to think of a society that truly seeks the common good, that not only encourages the creation of associations that claim rights, but also others that exhort us to fulfill our own obligations: "We need associations of human duties, not only of human rights".
