Training Grounds of Fraternity

Some 70,000 pilgrims from more than 100 countries took part in the festivities for the Jubilee of Ecclesial Movements, Associations, and New Communities on Saturday, 7 June, and Sunday, 8 June.

Among the groups present were representatives of the Neocatechumenal Way, Catholic Action, Communion and Liberation, the Catholic Shalom Community, Parish Evangelization Cells, charis International, the Community of Sant’Egidio, the New Horizons Community, the International Forum of Catholic Action, the Marian Burning Youth (Gioventù Ardente Mariana), the Work of Mary — Focolare Movement, Renewal in the Spirit, and the Association of Salesian Cooperators.

After their pilgrimage through the Holy Door, participants gathered in Saint Peter’s Square on Saturday afternoon for a “pre-Vigil”, of prayer, song, and witness statements from the following: Hussam Abu Sini, an Israeli of Arab-Christian origin dedicated to peacebuilding; Nicola Buricchi, a husband and father who overcame drug addiction; Aline Minani, director of the “Floribert Bwana Chui” School of Peace for refugee and vulnerable children on the outskirts of Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo; Pedro and Maria Begoña Sánchez, missionary spouses in Ukraine and parents of 12 children.

Later in the evening, the jubilant crowd of pilgrims was joined by Pope Leo for the Pentecost Vigil. The Holy Father highlighted that the Holy Spirit teaches us to walk together in unity and “inspires the contemplative dimension of life that rejects self-assertion, complaining, rivalry and the temptation to control consciences and resources”. He encouraged the communities to be “training grounds of fraternity and sharing, not merely meeting places, but centres of spirituality.”