What Is The World Meeting Of Families?
Can society exist without the family? How do families embrace the struggles and blessings of disabilities? What are the concerns of urban families? How can human dignity be promoted at home?
These are just a few of the pressing questions and issues that will be explored during the upcoming World Meeting of Families (WMOF), which is scheduled to take place in Philadelphia September 22 through 27.
What is the WMOF? The week-long international event of prayer, catechesis, and celebration, which Saint John Paul II first conceived in the early 1990s, is designed to “strengthen the sacred bonds of families across the globe.” The Pontifical Council for the Family, a Vatican organization, is responsible for promoting and advising the WMOF, which is celebrated every three years, and has been billed “the world’s largest Catholic gathering of families.”
Philadelphia is the first U.S. city to host the event, and everyone is welcome to attend. The 2015 WMOF theme is “Love is our mission: The family fully alive,” which points to the impact of the love and life of families in society. The WMOF consists of a Theological Adult Congress and a concurrent Youth Congress; both will be held in the downtown Pennsylvania Convention Center. Two events that Pope Francis is scheduled to attend will follow — a “Festival of Families” that will include different types of cultural and musical performances, and the closing Papal Mass. A registration fee is required for the congresses; papal events are open to the public and will take place outdoors on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway.
The Archdiocese of Philadelphia and the Pontifical Council for the Family have created various educational resources for individuals and parishes in anticipation of the WMOF. A preparatory catechesis that describes what Catholics believe about human purpose, marriage and family forms the basis of WMOF sessions, is over one hundred pages, and is available for purchase at www.worldmeeting2015.org; I’ll explore the catechesis in a supplementary article. Other resources, such as prayer cards, a parish preparation packet and catechetical materials for children and young people can be downloaded at no cost at the website.
Adult Congress keynote themes are designed to harmonize with the individual chapters of the preparatory catechesis. Keynote presenters include well-known American Catholics Father Robert Barron, Cardinal Sean O’Malley of Boston, and Professor Helen Alvare, as well as international figures such as Panamanian medical doctor Juan Francisco de la Guardia Brin and Gabriela N. de la Guardia, Cardinal Luis Antonio G. Tagle of Manila, Philippines, and Guinean Cardinal Robert Sarah. Multiple breakout sessions follow each keynote. Session presenters include Catholic couples, priests and religious, theologians, psychologists and professors, but also representatives from other denominations and faiths. Session titles generally reflect hope and sober optimism; talks will doubtlessly hearten but also encourage and challenge participants.
WMOF organizers urge parishes, families and individuals to make the most of the event and seize the opportunity to continue to give thanks to God for the gifts of marriage and family; make earnest attempts to learn more about Catholic teaching on human purpose, marriage, and family; and call attention to the needs of families. Parishes, for example, may sponsor family enrichment events and activities, such as family service projects, that foster bonds of affection among families and a sense of mutual support. Family members may rededicate themselves to conscientiously “accepting love as our mission,” endeavoring to be generous in their self-giving, “patient with weakness, and forgiving of injury and persevering in our efforts to love one another as Christ loved us,” as one WMOF prayer encourages. And all of us may continue to pray for our families, other families, and particularly those in special need.
