Rome Newsroom, Jun 16, 2022 / 08:30 am (CNA).
The Vatican is gearing up for the World Meeting of Families 2022, which will draw around 2,000 Catholic families to the Italian capital next week to meet Pope Francis and hear talks on marriage and the faith.
CNA answers your questions about the 10th edition of this event:
What is the World Meeting of Families 2022?
The World Meeting of Families 2022 will take place in Rome from Wednesday, June 22 to Sunday, June 26.
The international Catholic gathering will focus on the theme of “Family love: a vocation and a path to holiness” and marks the end of the Amoris Laetitia Family Year.
The schedule includes Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica, talks by lay Catholic couples, family activities, and a live performance by Italian operatic pop trio Il Volo.
Pope Francis will participate in three events, beginning with the opening gathering, the Festival of Families, on the afternoon of June 22.
The pope will also celebrate Mass in St. Peter’s Square on Saturday evening, June 25. On Sunday, June 26, Francis will address families at the Angelus and commission them to share what they have learned with others when they return home.
How did it start?
The first World Meeting of Families took place in Rome in 1994 at the request of Pope John Paul II. The event was also held in the Eternal City in the year 2000.
The meetings usually take place every three years, with the most recent being in Dublin, Ireland, in 2018.
In 2015, more than a million people attended Pope Francis’ Mass at the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia.
But in 2022, organizers opted to limit in-person attendance to around 2,000 families due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
How can I participate?
With in-person attendance smaller than in prior years, the Vatican is encouraging Catholic families to participate in the World Meeting of Families through the media.
Catholics can join in from wherever they are by attending locally organized gatherings or tuning into live streams of the Rome events.
EWTN will have live coverage of the World Meeting of Families from Rome, beginning with a preview on Tuesday, June 21, and ending with the Angelus on Sunday, June 26.
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