Communion and fraternity: the main paths of evangelization

“Communion and fraternity as the main paths of evangelization”. This is how Bishop Msgr. Dario Gervasi, Adjunct Secretary of the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life, urged the Magnificat Community to serve the Church and society during the General Conference organized by the association from 4-6 January 2025, in Montesilvano, in the province of Pescara. Invited to preside over the Eucharist on Sunday, 5 January, Msgr. Gervasi extended greetings from Cardinal Kevin Farrell, Prefect, and his coworkers to the approximately 1,000 participants. Attendees came primarily from Italy, but also from Romania, Uganda, Argentina, and Türkiye. “It is essential that mission arises from communities living in communion” Bishop Gervasi explained during his homily at Mass. “In fact, today we live in a deeply divided and fearful world which, because of this, is becoming very violent… Many struggle to trust in the future.” The Magnificat Community, like the entire Church, is called to become a “field hospital in the midst of a battle,” a place “to rediscover the beauty of being sons of God.”

The General Conference, dedicated to the theme “All of them may be one so that the world may believe” followed the General Assembly during which the delegates elected the new general leaders, including the new moderator, Alessandra Maria Pauluzzi.

Reflections for the conference sessions were entrusted to Michelle Moran, founder, along with her husband Peter, of the Sion Catholic Community for Evangelism in England. Moran served as President of the International Catholic Charismatic Renewal Services (ICCRS) for eleven years, the body which later became CHARIS, merging with the Catholic Fraternity of Charismatic Covenant Communities and Fellowships (CFCCCF). She was also a member of the Pontifical Council for the Laity from 2008 to 2016.

The Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life formally recognized the Magnificat Community as an international association of the faithful on 8 December 2023.