Focolare Movement

A brief history of The World Meeting of Families

Aug 18, 2018

In 1994, in conjunction with the International Year dedicated by the United Nations to the Family, John Paul II announced the “World Meeting of Families”, which took place in Rome 8-9 October of the same year. Since then, the event has been repeated every three years. The past editions were held in Rio de Janeiro […]

In 1994, in conjunction with the International Year dedicated by the United Nations to the Family, John Paul II announced the “World Meeting of Families”, which took place in Rome 8-9 October of the same year. Since then, the event has been repeated every three years. The past editions were held in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) in 1997, in Rome in 2000 (during the Jubilee Year), in Manila (Philippines) in 2003, in Valencia (Spain) in 2006, in Mexico City in 2009, at Milan (Italy) in 2012 and finally in Philadelphia (USA) in 2015. A few days before ninth edition, which will take place in Dublin (Ireland) on August 25-26 2018, with the title “The Gospel of the family: joy for the world”, thousands of families from 196 countries of the world are preparing for the meeting with Pope Francis. Half a million people are expected to attend the Mass. Promoted by the new Dicastery for the Laity, the Family and Life, the event will be preceded by a three-day pastoral conference attended by 37,000 families.  

0 Comments

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Subscribe to Newsletter

Thought of the day

Related post

Towards the 2026 General Assembly

Towards the 2026 General Assembly

The Focolare Movement is preparing for its General Assembly, which will take place in March 2026. Many steps have already been taken, and there are still many more steps to take before reaching the end of this journey. To find out more, we have asked some questions to the Preparatory Commission of the Assembly (CPA).

An assessment that speaks of peace, education, health and inclusion

An assessment that speaks of peace, education, health and inclusion

Over €9.6 million have been invested in 177 projects, 394 individual grants and 14 projects in 13 countries supported by the Economy of Communion. The Focolare Movement’s 2024 Assessment of Communion in Action describes a fraternity that is helping to change the world.