Revitalising parish life. Ten years since the ecclesial recognition of Parish Evangelisation Cells System

“The call you have received is an invitation to place yourselves at the service of the needs of parishes, so that they are not merely legal institutions or organisations that offer spaces for people. If this were the case, there would be nothing further from the missionary spirit to which the Church is dedicated."

The Adjunct Secretary of the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life, His Excellency Monsignor Dario Gervasi, greeted the approximately 100 participants at the 35th International Seminar of Parish Evangelisation Cells System with these words. ‘Celebrating God's Work: 10 Years Since Ecclesial Recognition,’ which took place on 9 and 10 June 2025, in the Basilica of St. Andrew's in Rome.

Revitalising the life of parishes so that they can truly have a profound impact on the lives of those who pass through them, who visit them, who live there

On this occasion, Monsignor Gervasi offered a broader reflection on the precious task that we all have as baptised Christians: to revitalise the life of parishes so that they can truly have a profound impact on the lives of those who pass through them, visit them and live in them. ‘The Church,’ said Gervasi, ‘finds clear support for its mission also in the many men and women, lay and lay, who offer themselves with courage and dedication in all kinds of service, ministerial and pastoral, in their parishes. This virtuous response is the fruit of a profound rediscovery of the consecration we received in Baptism and which finds confirmation and support in the other sacraments.’

Internal unity and evangelising mission: the priorities of the Church's life today

Parish Cells are by their nature small groups of willing people who walk together and work together in the service of the larger ecclesial community. In this regard, Gervasi recalled that "Pope Leo also emphasised internal unity and the evangelising mission as priorities for the life of the Church at this time, reminding us that we cannot have strength in mission without being united: “Let us build a Church founded on God's love and a sign of unity, a missionary Church” (Homily of 18 May 2025).

The invitation, on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the ecclesial recognition of the Parish Evangelisation Cells, is to continue to allow ourselves to be animated by the Spirit, to 'show that we are not just one of many ‘groups’ in the parishes, but a bridge between the various realities that inhabit the parishes; a bridge between souls who, precisely in the parishes, quench their thirst with the Word, are satisfied at the Eucharistic table, and are consoled by the Spirit and the Sacraments.

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Find out more about the Parish Evangelisation Cells System in the Directory of International Associations of the Faithful, which lists the International Associations of the Faithful and other ecclesial entities formally recognised or established by the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life.