By Vatican News
The United States, Italy, Poland, Brazil, Spain, France, Mexico, Germany, Slovakia, the Philippines, Bangladesh, Ukraine, Colombia, and India, are among the countries from which some 500 Missionaries of Mercy are traveling to the Vatican.
Starting on Friday, Mar 28, until Sunday, they will hold their Jubilee, the sixth of the major events scheduled for the Holy Year dedicated to hope.
Pope Francis, who has returned to the Casa Santa Marta after more than a month of hospitalization at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, will not be able to attend, but is expected to send a written message.
The number of Missionaries of Mercy, whose special ministry was instituted by the Pope during the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy with the Bull of Indiction in 2015, is steadily increasing.
Today, 1,258 priests worldwide have been appointed.
These Missionaries, “a sign of the Church’s maternal care for the People of God” (Misericordiae Vultus, n. 18), have been given the special authority to forgive even sins reserved to the Apostolic See.
The Program
The Jubilee of the Missionaries of Mercy will begin at 10.00 am on Friday, Mar 28, with a prayer in the Vatican’s Paul VI Audience Hall, marking the opening of the Fourth World Meeting of Missionaries.
The international conference, organized by the Dicastery for Evangelization, and held every two years, will focus on the theme “Forgiveness as a Source of Hope” and will be divided into two formative sessions.
The first session, which is theological in nature, will be introduced at 10.30 am by Archbishop Rino Fisichella, Pro-Prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization, while the second session, starting at noon, will offer guidelines for pastoral work.
24 Hours for the Lord
The meeting will continue at 4.00 pm in the center of Rome with the celebration of the 12th edition of “24 Hours for the Lord” at the Basilica of Sant’Andrea della Valle, reserved for the Missionaries of Mercy.
This Lenten initiative of prayer and reconciliation, initiated by Pope Francis in 2013, will also be celebrated in dioceses around the world on the eve of the Fourth Sunday of Lent, between Friday, Mar 28, and Saturday, Mar 29.
For this edition, during the Jubilee Year, the Pope has chosen a particularly significant motto: “You are my hope” (Psalm 71:5).
The goal of the event is to refocus the Sacrament of Reconciliation in the life of the Church’s pastoral work.
Parishes and Christian communities can download the free guide for the community celebration of the liturgy from the website of the Dicastery for Evangelization.
A Rosary, Mass, and concert
On Saturday, Mar 29, the Missionaries will have the opportunity to take part in their pilgrimage to the Holy Door of St Peter’s Basilica between 9.00 and 11.00 am.
Afterwards, they will gather for the Rosary prayer at the Lourdes Grotto in the Vatican Gardens.
The Jubilee event will conclude on Sunday, Mar 30, with the celebration of Mass, presided over by Archbishop Rino Fisichella, Pro-Prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization, at the Basilica of Sant’Andrea della Valle at 10.00 am.
In the afternoon, for the Missionaries and anyone who wishes to participate, the fifth of the Holy Year Concerts will take place as part of the “Jubilee is Culture” series: a free symphonic concert, “Missa Papae Francisci,” in memory of world-renowned Italian musician Ennio Morricone.
The concert will be performed by the Roma Sinfonietta Orchestra, along with the New Lyrical Sinfonic Choir of Rome and the “Claudio Casini” Choir from the University of Rome Tor Vergata.
The performance, conducted by Maestro Gabriele Bonolis, will take place at 4.00 pm at the Church of Santi Ambrogio e Carlo al Corso on Via del Corso in the center of Rome. – Vatican News
