Archdiocese invites other faiths to World Meeting of Families
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia has opened registration to the World Meeting of Families in September, a global event that Pope Francis might attend.
The gathering Sept. 22-25 will draw thousands of people of all faiths to the city for four days of workshops and meetings at the Pennsylvania Convention Center.
While there has been no official confirmation from the Vatican, the pope has hinted that he’ll attend and attract more than a million visitors to the city.
“We want to involve the whole community in this celebration, which is why we’ve included Jewish, Mormon, Muslim and Protestant presenters on issues that we all share,” said Philadelphia Archbishop Charles Chaput.
Chaput announced the registration opening while attending the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Fall Assembly in Baltimore on Monday.
The World Meeting will include both an Adult Congress and a Youth Congress for children ages 6 to 17. Registered day care will be provided for children under age 6.
“The World Meeting of Families will deal with a wide range of family issues where our faith is both needed and tested,” Chaput said.
Catholic churches and organizations throughout the archdiocese are beginning to prepare for the event. Families willing to host visitors are being recruited.
St. Robert Bellarmine parish in Warrington will host Auxiliary Bishop John McIntyre at 7 p.m. Tuesday to speak about the World Meeting of Families. The meeting will be held in Monsignor Marley Hall, next to the church, 856 Euclid Ave.
“We requested a speaker to come,” said Joan Fitzpatrick, director of adult faith formation. “We put in a request. They assigned a speaker to us,” she said, adding that the parish was honored that the bishop is giving the talk.
St. Ignatius of Loyola parish in Lower Makefield is hosting a series of prayer meetings focusing on the upcoming event.
Chaput said that the World Meeting is expected to bring together up to 15,000 delegates from 150 nations.
Among the topics to be discussed are the effects that poverty, disabilities, addiction, divorce and co-parenting or loss of a spouse have on families, as well as intimacy between spouses, the challenges of raising children, the role of grandparents, parishes as support communities and other related themes, the archbishop noted.
The World Meeting of Families is held every three years; the last meeting was in Milan, Italy.
Multiple registration and pricing options are available at www.worldmeeting 2015.org/Plan-your-visit/Register. Hotel rooms can also be booked on the registration site. Guests can also register to stay with a host family through the same site.
For more information, visit www.worldmeeting2015.org.