Dublin: Pope Francis Will be Present

Francis will take part in the World Meeting of Families next August in Dublin: he will participate in a special way in the Festival of Testimonies, which will take place on Saturday, August 25^th, and on the following day he will preside over the great final Eucharistic celebration. The Pope made the announcement this morning at the audience, before his greetings in Italian that as usual concluded the Wednesday encounter with the faithful.

“I offer a special greeting to the Irish pilgrims accompanying the icon of the Ninth World Meeting of Families, to be celebrated in Dublin in August,” he had said earlier, addressing in particular the pilgrims from Ireland.

In fact, this morning, two Irish families presented him the “Icon of the Holy Family,” one of the official symbols of the Irish event. The delegation of the World Meeting of Families that met the Pope today was led by Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, president of the event, and composed of the General Secretary Father Tim Bartlett and the iconographer Mihai Cucu.

The icon was blessed by Archbishop Martin on August 21^st, at the official launching of the event’s preparation in Ireland. Since then, the icon has been taken to the parishes throughout the country, on a pilgrimage intended to help the communities to prepare for the meeting that will take place from 21 to 26 August.

For the resources, information, and more details, you can consult the Meeting’s special website and the page on the Dicastery’s website dedicated to it.