UPDATE: Pope Francis has officially confirmed his attendance of the World Meeting of Families: http://www.worldmeeting2015.org/papal-visit/
We are now less than one year away from the World Meeting of Families, September 22nd – 27th, 2015. This meeting was conceived by Saint Pope John Paul II in 1992 to look at strengthening the sacred bonds of the family unit across the globe. Held every three years and sponsored by the Holy See’s Pontifical Council for the Family, the World Meeting of Families is the world’s largest Catholic gathering of families. Each World Meeting of Families has a theme that energizes and enlivens the event while adding great depth of meaning to our understanding of families. The theme of the World Meeting of Families – Philadelphia 2015 is “Love Is Our Mission: The Family Fully Alive,” emphasizing the impact of the love and life of families on our society.
Our parish family has taken this theme fully to heart, including it in all our events and programs this coming year. The future of our church can be seen in the faces of our over 300 Faith Formation youth, our High School Youth Group, and all the other groups and ministries that are actively engaging the families and parishioners of Saint John. All of our efforts, from Safe Environment Certification, to the We Are Saint John moments of encounter, are to help us all work together to encourage each other, as well as to go out and enliven the entire community with our love, respect, and support.
We have a plan for our parish to travel to Philadelphia for the meeting in several groups, one for the full event and another for the final weekend, with the opportunity to celebrate Mass with our Holy Father, who has stated he will be at the Meeting. Travel, hotel, and tickets have been reserved to ensure we have the best possible experience and are able to participate in all the meetings and programs. If you are interested in joining our parish group to Philadelphia, please contact me.