The next World Meeting of Families, around the theme ‘Love in the family: vocation and way of holiness’, will take placein Rome during the week of June 22-26, 2022
Newsdesk (July 6, 2021 15:23, Gaudium Press) – On Friday, June 2, via a video message, Pope Francis introduced the Tenth World Meeting of Families, scheduled to take place from June 22 to June 26, 2022, in the city of Rome.
He also unveiled the official logo and video animation, promoted by the Dicastery for the Laity, the Family and Life, and by the Diocese of Rome.
In this way, the upcoming World Meeting of Families, following the theme ‘Love in the family: vocation and way of holiness’, already has a logo, hashtag (#WMOF2022), prayer, hymn, image and an “unprecedented and multi-centric” form of participation, since each diocese will be able to be the center of a local meeting for their own families and communities.
Description of the Logo
The elliptical shape of the logo refers to Bernini’s colonnade in St. Peter’s Square, recalling its original meaning: welcoming embrace of the Mother Church of Rome and her Bishop to all people. As a reference to the coat of arms of Rome, the dominant colours of the logo are yellow and red.
Under the dome and the cross appear human figures representing husband, wife, children, grandparents, and grandchildren. The image evokes the idea of the Church as a “family of families,” as proposed by Amoris Laetitia (AL 87): “the love lived in families is a permanent force for the life of the Church.” (AL 88).
The cross of Christ, outlined at the top, and the walls of protection resemble to be erected by families as authentic living stones of the ecclesial construction. On the left side, on top of the thin line of the colonnade, there is a family. Symmetrical to the images of the saints located on top of the square’s columns, the figures recall our vocation to holiness.
Official Prayer
The following is the official prayer of the Tenth World Meeting of Families:
“Heavenly Father,
We come before You to praise You
and to thank You for the great gift of the family.
We pray to You for all families
consecrated by the Sacrament of Matrimony.
May they rediscover each day
the grace they have received,
and as small domestic Churches,
may they know how to witness to Your presence
and to the love with which Christ loves the Church.
We pray to You for all families faced with difficulty and suffering
caused by illness or circumstances of which only You know.
Sustain them and make them aware
of the path to holiness upon which You call them,
so that they might experience Your infinite mercy
and find new ways to grow in love.
We pray to You for children and young people:
may they encounter You and respond joyfully
to the vocation You have in mind for them;
We pray for parents and grandparents: may they be aware
that they are signs of the fatherhood and motherhood of God
in caring for the children who, in body and spirit, You entrust to them;
and for the experience of fraternity
that the family can give to the world
Lord, grant that each family
might live their specific vocation to holiness in the Church
as a call to become missionary disciples,
in the service of life and peace,
in communion with our priests, religious,
and all vocations in the Church.
Bless the World Meeting of Families.
Amen.
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Compiled by Gustavo Kralj
