Once again, CANA responds to the invitation of the Vatican, participating in the Festival of Families and the Pastoral Congress, and gathers its leaders in Rome from June 20 to 26.

10th World Meeting of Families, 2022

The most recent World Meeting of Families hosted by the Vatican was held in Dublin in August 2018. The next meeting, scheduled to take place in Rome in 2021, has been pushed back a year to June 2022 because of the COVID pandemic. As it has every time since 2013, CANA takes the opportunity of this global event to gather its leaders from around the world. It is an opportunity to experience together powerful moments, times of celebration and exchange and to participate actively in the global meeting with other movements of family ministry from around the world.

A unique event

On site in Rome

This time, the Vatican has changed its formula. About 2000 delegates from all over the world representing all associations and movements for couples, families and grandparents will participate in the Festival of Families and the Pastoral Congress in Paul VI Hall.

CANA has been invited and is sending its delegates: 2 couples (one Polish, one French) and an Italian priest. They will start on Wednesday evening, June 22, and will participate in conferences, round tables and testimonies on the theme: “Family love: a Vocation and a Path to Holiness”.

The detailed program of the Pastoral Congress is available here. Note, on Friday morning, in the Paul VI Hall, the intervention of Guillaume & Sandrine Haudebourg, on the theme “Center the Family in Christ”.

Here is the outline of the program:

Conference n. 1 THE DOMESTIC CHURCH AND SYNODALITY

Conference n. 2 FAMILY LOVE: WONDERFUL AND FRAGILE

Conference n. 3 IDENTITY AND MISSION OF CHRISTIAN FAMILIES

Conference n. 4 MARRIAGE CATECHUMENATE

Conference n. 5 FAMILY AS A PATH OF HOLINESS

Around the world and in streaming

In parallel, all the dioceses of the world are invited to create their own program in June, based on proposals sent by the dicastery for the family, but with great latitude for creativity and adaptation to the local reality. The CANA mission will be often involved in these different events.

The events at the Vatican will be streamed. At the end of Saturday afternoon, everyone will gather in St. Peter’s Square around Pope Francis who will celebrate Mass. On Sunday at noon, the World Meeting of Families 2022 will conclude in St. Peter’s Square for the Angelus and the Mandate to Families.

The CANA International meeting in Rome

In parallel to the Festival of Families and the Pastoral Congress, we will have the joy of meeting in the house of the Chemin Neuf Community, located in the heart of Rome. We are expecting 70 delegates from 24 countries, which is already a great joy for us considering all the current constraints to travel and after 2 years of epidemic!

The CANA meeting will start on Monday evening, June 20, and will end with all the delegates in St. Peter’s Square in Rome on Sunday 26, in the presence of Pope Francis. The program will also be very rich: biblical formation by a bishop, meeting with a Protestant couple with a passion for evangelization, “spiritual” visit of emblematic places in Rome, discovery of the Jewish faith, without forgetting good times of deep sharing, charismatic prayer and fellowship!

We feel that in these difficult times, this gathering and all these meetings will be able to give a new impetus to “give an account of the hope that dwells in us” (1Peter 3,15).

To go further:

Many pastoral resources are available online, in 5 languages: