The City of Brotherly Love is gearing up to host the World Meeting of Families and a visit from Pope Francis this September! The Pope considers this the highlight of his upcoming visit to the United States: “the focus will really be Philadelphia, because the Pope is going to the United States for the World Meeting of Families,” said Archbishop Auza, a member of the trip planning committee. Pope Francis will be in Philly Saturday, September 26 and Sunday, September 27, for the Festival of Families and a massive, open air Celebration of the Eucharist.
Regnum Christi is very excited to be an active participant in this great event in Philadelphia. We want to show our support of the Church as she embraces and promotes the authentic family values drawn from the Gospel message. We want to join the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and so many of our brothers and sisters in faith in showing our love for the Holy Father. We look forward, as well, to gathering as a Regnum Christi Family! And so we invite all of you to be part of the activities we are planning:
1. In conjunction with the Archdiocese, we are organizing twenty-four hour adoration at the Cathedral from Sunday, September 20, through Friday, September 25. Please pray with us in the heart of the Church in Philadelphia!
2. Since 2002, Regnum Christi has been organizing Vocations Coffee Houses at World Youth Days and other major events around the world. The aim of the café experience is to inspire young people to be open to following Christ´s own call in their life through testimonies, music and a place where they can gather and ask questions. At the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia, a vocations café will be running in the coffee shop and plaza in front of the Cathedral.
3. Love & Serve, a ministry in Atlanta which RC members and friends in Atlanta are involved with, is responding to the call of Francis to serve the poor by organizing a humanitarian mission to the streets of Philadelphia.
The mission will be focused on serving the homeless around Logan Square and the Cathedral Basilica of St Peter and St Paul. In our outreach to others we will share the good news of what Jesus has done in our own lives. We will listen, share names and stories, pray with people, and invite people to light candles and pray in any of the six parishes which will be open in the downtown area. We will invite people to join us for the Papal Mass on Sunday. We will distribute business card sized invites offering people a free mobile app with all details about the papal visit as well as a Catholic Bible, prayer resources, papal documents, Church teachings, and much more, including how to meet up with us for the Mass on Sunday.
We will also serve the poor and homeless by distributing shoes, coats, sleeping bags, food and, most importantly, practicing a ministry of presence. We will work with local ministries to help us identify longer-‐term needs and make effective referrals to appropriate services.
See more details in the flyer attached. To get involved or to make a donation, contact Dave Sloan at davesloan@mail.com. More information will be available on Facebook athttps://www.facebook.com/loveandservetoday
4. A reception for all members and friends of Regnum Christi will be held on Friday, September 25, from 2pm to 7pm, at the Cathedral Hall! This will be a simple event to offer you a chance to mix and mingle with your fellow Regnum Christi members from around the country and the world.
5. A Regnum Christi exhibit booth will be part of the large expo held at the Philadelphia Convention Center as part of the World Meeting of Families. Let us know if you would like to volunteer at the booth and give witness to living the vocation to Regnum Christi.
Planning resources
Please be a part of the excitement! Pray for the success and fruits of these events. Be a part of one or all of these activities. Details will be following, but if you would like more information, please visit our Facebook Page: RC at World Meeting of Families- Philadelphia 2015 https://www.facebook.com/RCatWMOF2015?ref=br_tf .
If you are organizing groups to be present in Philadelphia, or know of Regnum Christi members who will be there, and have accommodation needs, you may contact Damian Wargo at: Damian Wargo, Philadelphia Pilgrimage, 484-441-3225, damian@philadelphiapilgrimage.com
For your travel arrangements, we recommend Candy Nesbitt at Elite Travel, who has years of experience helping groups of Legionaries and Regnum Christi members with their travel needs:http://www.elitetravelct.com, candy@elitetravelct.com.
We look forward to seeing you there! If you have any questions or there is anything we can do for you, please let us know. For more information on the World Meeting of Families, visit http://www.worldmeeting2015.org/.