Hope Lived and Proclaimed. The Gift of the Jubilee for Ecclesial Communities

Evangelization and formation in the light of Christian hope: these will be the topics for reflection explored by nearly 250 participants, moderators, and representatives from 115 associations recognized by the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life, during their Annual Meeting, which will take place from 4 to 6 June in the New Synod Hall, Vatican City.

This year, the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life once again invites Moderators from International Associations of the Faithful, Ecclesial Movements, and New Communities to come together and share their experiences, difficulties, and future projects. Specifically, the theme proposed for this Jubilee Year aims to bring everyone together to rethink the evangelizing mission they were entrusted with in today’s world, as well as the formation activity in the spirit of “hope does not disappoint” (Spes non confundit), to rediscover hope within the mission and form people “of hope”.

The Meeting will begin on Wednesday, 4 June, in the afternoon, in the New Synod Hall, with opening remarks by His Eminence Cardinal Kevin Farrell, Prefect of the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life. Following, Prof. Andrea Riccardi, historian and founder of the Community of Sant’Egidio, together with Prof. Luigino Bruni, economist and Vice-President of Economy of Francesco, will offer a joint reflection on the theme “What Challenges for Movements Today?”. They will offer food for thought on the opportunities and challenges of a world that has deeply changed on several levels – cultural, anthropological, communicative, etc. (ad extra challenges) – and on how to remain faithful to each association’s specific identity (whether charismatic or not), while continuing to bear fruit, yet without falling into a sterile repetition of the strategies. They will engage in a dialogue with the present time, facing the typical challenges of the “post-founder” phase, valuing people without sacrificing them to the institution, etc. (ad intra challenges). Discussions will be animated by participants’ questions.

The first day will continue with a Penitential liturgy in Saint Peter’s Basilica. After listening to the word of God, there will be two key moments: an acknowledgment of shortcomings, mistakes and omissions by movements and pastors with regard to the charism, the people, and the mission of the Church itself; and an invocation of the Holy Spirit to guide all Associations of the Faithful through the necessary conversion, in fidelity to their mission of bringing the Gospel to the women and men of our time. In the Holy Year of Jubilee 2025, Moderators of Ecclesial Communities will gather for a concerted call for forgiveness to God and their brothers, invoking the grace of an authentic personal and community conversion.

The second day, Thursday, 5 June, will focus on the foundations of Christian hope, which must be proclaimed and testified through languages and formation that respond to the reality we live in.

After the Holy Mass, celebrated in Saint Peter’s by His Eminence Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State of His Holiness, the day will start with a speech by His Eminence Cardinal Luis Antonio Gokim Tagle, Pro-Prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization, on “Rethinking mission in the light of hope”. A testimony by Camilo Conejeros and Margarita Sillano, a married couple from the Fraternity of Communion and Liberation, Chile, will end the first session.

Prof. Donna Orsuto, Director of the Department of Moral Theology and Spiritual Theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University and co-founder of Lay Center, will discuss the theme “Being people of hope” and the formation of the members of ecclesial associations. Testimonies from Eva Fernández Mateo (Coordinator of the International Forum of Catholic Action – Spain) and Manoj Sunny (Jesus Youth – India) will present concrete experiences of formation in the Hall, aiming to inspire all Moderators and members of movements to rethink the path to create women and men of hope in today’s ordinary realities.

Throughout the day, divided in two working groups, participants will discuss how the time of grace of the Jubilee provides ecclesial associations with an opportunity to renew their missionary commitment, a privileged moment to rediscover their call to be signs of hope for the Church and the world.

As the Undersecretary of the Dicastery Linda Ghisoni said, “The Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life hopes that the Annual Meeting with Moderators, together with the Jubilee of Ecclesial Movements, Associations and New Communities that will follow the Meeting, will provide an opportunity to live a renewed Pentecost, knowing that the Risen Lord is now renewing his call for ecclesial movements to meet today’s men and women to listen to them and be reliable witnesses of the joy experienced in meeting the Lord. He calls us to break out of the prevailing individualism and become a ‘we’, as bearers of Christian hope: ‘And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us’ (Romans 5:5)”.