Journeys of Joy and Love

International Ecclesial Movements Travel to World Meeting of Families

Courtesy of Schoenstatt Movement Archives
Courtesy of Schoenstatt Movement Archives )

HONORING MARY. Faithful of the Schoenstatt movement gather for their 100th jubilee this past October. It was an international gathering with 10,000-plus attending, in Vallendar, Germany, where the movement was founded. Courtesy of Schoenstatt Movement Archives

 

“Always keep moving!”

That’s what Pope Francis told representatives who had gathered in Rome from throughout the world in November 2014 for the Third World Congress of Ecclesial Movements and New Communities.

During his address, the Holy Father said, “Dear brothers and sisters, you have already borne much fruit for the Church and the world. You will bear even greater fruit with the help of the Holy Spirit, who raises up and renews his gifts and charisms, and through the intercession of Mary, who never ceases to assist and accompany her children. Go forward, always in movement. … Never stop, but always keep moving!”

Going forward in movement is exactly what a number of ecclesial movements and new communities will be doing Sept. 22-27 as they participate at World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia.

Members of Focolare will come together at the meeting from throughout the country and abroad. The international movement, comprised of families, lay individuals and religious, also will have a booth at the Pennsylvania Convention Center, with materials, videos and staff to explain the basics of the Focolare lifestyle. Focolare was founded in 1943 by Chiara Lubich (1920-2008; her canonization cause opened in early 2015), in order to work cooperatively to build a more united world following the inspiration of Jesus’ prayer to the Father, “May they all be one” (John 17:21).

As a movement, Focolare is looking forward to mingling with others in order to share personal experiences and offer hope and support to all families. Of course, they also are looking forward to seeing Pope Francis.

“For the Holy Father, we want to convey that we love and support him and that each day we are trying to put into practice his message of going out to others, to always look out to those on the periphery, as he is encouraging us to do,” said Focolare’s Kathleen Kelley.

The Regnum Christi movement and Legion of Christ also will have booths during World Meeting of Families, offering materials to explain their charism of embracing and witnessing to the Gospel message in a simple, solid and day-to-day spirituality patterned after the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola. In addition to the expo booth, local teams will be assisting with adoration of the Blessed Sacrament in the Cathedral-Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul throughout the World Meeting, in order to pray for the fruits of the event. In addition, they’ve been helping the Vocations Office of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia plan an event to build vocation awareness among young adults (ClubFrancis.com).

Most exciting of all, according to Legionary Father Daniel Hennessy, is a cooperative effort among groups from Philadelphia and other cities: a mission outreach to the homeless and underprivileged, creating activities for young people from the suburbs to share and bond with their peers from the inner city (FrancisinPhilly.net).

“Regnum Christi wants to be a part of the New Evangelization, wherever that is taking place,” said Father Hennessy. “We want to be responding to the urgent needs of the Church and of humanity, and the renewal of family life is one of those needs. I also think there is some confusion in some circles, both within and without the Church, about what Pope Francis is trying to accomplish. We want to listen to him attentively, to hear what he’s really saying, and not merely someone’s interpretation.”

The apostolic movement of Schoenstatt will be represented internationally, with members from South America and Europe. Within the United States, members will make a pilgrimage to World Meeting of Families, taking buses from three destinations: Miami, Texas and Wisconsin. The movement, made up of people in all walks of life, is Marian in nature and seeks to renew the world and Church in Christ, particularly through revitalization of the family. In addition to having a booth in the expo center, Schoenstatt will participate in all of the World Meeting events and gather as an international movement once the formal program has ended.

“With much joy, the pilgrims of our movement have been preparing for the encounter with many other families who are all striving to build holy marriages and holy families,” said Sister Marie Day, Schoenstatt movement coordinator.  “It will be enriching and strengthening, against the background of the time in which we live today. We thank God that we have been chosen for this pilgrimage. And, of course, the joy is great when we think of the moment we will meet our Holy Father.”

Living Water Community, based in Trinidad, will be represented by two couples and a TV team of four. The movement was founded in 1975 and is comprised of priests and laity, with a mission to serve both the spiritually and physically poor.

“Our motto is to love and show the world how to love,” said coordinator Rosemary Scott. “We strive to do this through our ministries, which are both social and pastoral. We hope to participate in as many of the sessions as possible and also to film as many stories as possible with persons attending from different parts of the world, to get a broad perspective for our local Trinity TV channel. We hope that, by sharing our lives and their stories with all those that we meet, we will be life-giving to others.”

The Christian Family Movement will also be present. “We are excited to meet the many other families from around the world who love the Church and are actively engaged in making a difference for Christ,” said Rosemary Piraino, the movement’s U.S. executive director. “At the World Meeting of Families, we want to experience the strength present in Christian families when they gather with a united purpose. We want our participation to inspire and motivate us to take what we learn at the congress and other events back home to our local groups.”

The Christian Family Movement was founded in 1940 and is an international confederation of groups whose charism is to empower Catholic laypeople to live their faith actively. Its U.S. office is in Omaha, Neb.

For the World Meeting of Families, members will be networking with other family-ministry organizations. Rather than funding an exhibit, the movement has decided to encourage its members to attend and has planned ways to connect while there. For example, those going to the Festival of Families and papal Mass will receive a special string bag emblazoned with the movement’s name so members will be easily identifiable to each other. “We want the World Meeting of Families participants to know that Christian Family Movement is excited to be part of the Holy Father’s visit. After World Meeting of Families, delegates will share their photos and first-person accounts of the events that they and their children experienced,” Piraino added.

While it’s not possible to tally all of the movements and new communities that will attend World Meeting of Families, organizers expect quite a showing. “According to what happened in previous World Meetings of Families, yes, almost every Catholic institution involving laypeople will be there,” said Yago de la Cierva, World Meeting’s international media director. “That’s especially considering that World Meeting of Families 2015 will have more participants than any other edition.”

Marge Fenelon, a member

of Schoenstatt, writes from Cudahy, Wisconsin.

She will be covering the World Meeting of Families for the Register.