CHARIS: Listening to the Pope’s Words and Following His Teaching, in Service to the Church

The Catholic Charismatic Renewal is preparing to celebrate its Jubilee in 2027. Accordingly, on Saturday, May 30, the International Service for the Catholic Charismatic Renewal (CHARIS), together with leaders from its national and international Communion Services, gathered at the Vatican, where they were received by the Holy Father Leo XIV.

Pope Leo, in addressing the thousands of participants, recalled that the Catholic Charismatic Renewal is called to preserve and share the gifts it has received: baptism in the Holy Spirit, the prayer of praise, the Word of God, communion, and charity. These are gifts that are not to be kept for oneself, but are to be shared with everyone. “Put yourselves at the service of the dioceses and parishes,” said the Holy Father, “offering your experience and methods of evangelization. Faithfully follow the guidance of your priests; and, in your communal discernment, listen to the voices of wise people, even if they do not belong to your groups. Cultivate harmony and cooperation among the communities to which you belong, taking care never to give way to the desire for self-promotion, or the pursuit of power or personal prestige.”

Cardinal Kevin Farrell, Prefect of the Dicastery for Laity, Family, and Life, who was present at the meeting to welcome the participants, strongly reaffirmed this perspective, recalling that “all members and all expressions of Charismatic Renewal are called to be collaborators in the “Petrine ministry”. "This" the Prefect continued "requires that Catholic Charismatic Renewal understand itself as a pastoral instrument in the service of the Successor of Peter and therefore as something that does not belong to its members, but, rather, to the Church".

Finally, he identified evangelization as the heart of every charism, inviting communities to courageously live out their missionary vocation by spreading the baptism in the Holy Spirit, building communion, serving the poor, and allowing themselves to be guided by the Spirit. In particular, he called for a focus on young people, encouraging the Renewal to reach out to them in the settings of their daily lives and to accompany them toward an encounter with Christ, especially in view of the upcoming World Youth Day in Seoul in 2027.