The attendance response to a Pentecost weekend event for Church
movements exceeded the Vatican’s expectations by 50,000 people.“Over 120,000 people signaled their attendance, around 150 different ecclesial realities coming from around the world are registered attesting to the fact that the Church's catholicity knows no boundaries,” said Archbishop Rino Fisichella, head of the Pontifical Council for Promoting New Evangelization.
“The Year of Faith is going better than what I thought, because the response has been great so far,” he remarked in an interview with CNA.
“We expected 70,000 people and we reached double the numbers,” he added.
The Vatican had organized the May 18-19 weekend for Church movements to gather in Rome as part of the “Year of Faith,” an initiative aimed at evangelizing and helping Catholics become more fervent in faith.
The Church movements are typically focused on presenting the Gospel in depth, building and promoting Christian community, and preparing their members to witness to their faith in the public square.
“New movements and associations are the young face of the Church and it’s a fruit of the Second Vatican Council,” the archbishop explained.
Participants in the weekend will have a chance to experience the faith in several ways.
Starting at 7:00 a.m. on May 18, groups of around 50 people were guided by experts in theology on a pilgrimage to St. Peter’s tomb inside Saint Peter’s Basilica.
Later in the afternoon, between 3-6 p.m., members of the Focolare movement’s Gen Verde musical group, along with a choir of over 150 singers from the various movements provided music for those gathered in St. Peter’s Square.
Once the music has finished, Pope Francis joined in the celebration with a prayer in front of the image of the Virgin Mary Salus Populi Romani.
The event continued with two strong testimonies by Irish writer John Waters and Pakistani surgeon Paul Bhatti, whose brother was killed by the Taliban for standing up against the country’s blasphemy law.
Members of the movements then asked the Pope some questions, which he responded to off-the-cuff.
A large group of people with disabilities, the parents of a child killed in L’Aquila’s earthquake, and Italian politicians from the Communion and Liberation movement were among those attending.
The weekend ceremony concluded on Sunday with Pentecost Mass presided over by Pope Francis at 10:00 a.m. in St. Peter’s Square.
The archbishop explained that Pope Benedict XVI launched the Year of Faith to call people to be witnesses of faith.
“On the other hand, the new Pope’s presence and his simplicity is attracting many people to Rome who want to listen, touch and see him,” said Archbishop Fisichella.
“This is great. And it’s in some way an effect of the Year of Faith, especially seeing Pope Francis being the first witness,” he stated.