Archdiocese seeks representatives to attend 2015 World Meeting of Families
Criterion Staff Report
The Archdiocese of Indianapolis is seeking families and individuals to become part of an archdiocesan representative group at the 2015 World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia.
The archdiocesan group will consist of about 50 people who will be part of a Sept. 20-28 pilgrimage to the World Meeting of Families and Festival of Families with an anticipated visit of Pope Francis.
Families and individuals from across central and southern Indiana will be selected to represent the archdiocese by application or nomination process, which includes family demographics and an essay portion with three questions:
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What gifts and strengths do you bring that would be beneficial to the pilgrimage to the World Meeting of Families?
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What do you hope to learn during the pilgrimage?
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How do you plan on bringing back what you learn to your family, parish and community to enhance and build up the Christian family in the Church and society within the Archdiocese of Indianapolis?
The application and nomination deadline is Jan. 13, 2015.
The group from the archdiocese will be diverse in family type (nuclear, single-parent, blended, grandparents as parents), state of life (married, divorced, never married, religious, priest, deacon) as well as in age, location in the archdiocese, and ethnicity.
The eighth World Meeting of Families will take place for the first time in the United States in Philadelphia on Sept. 21-25, 2015. The conference is expected to draw thousands of attendees from more than 150 countries—and more than 1 million pilgrims for the anticipated, but yet to be confirmed, papal visit and Sunday Mass.
The theme for the 2015 World Meeting of Families, “Love Is Our Mission: The Family Fully Alive,” emphasizes the impact of the love and life of families on our society. The purpose of this worldwide gathering is to allow families to hear distinguished speakers, share thoughts, participate in dialogue and prayers, and work together to grow as individuals and families while focusing on the role of the Christian family in the Church and society.
The World Meeting of Families was conceived by St. John Paul II to look at strengthening the sacred bonds of families across the globe. The first World of Families took place in Rome in 1994, the International “Year of the Family,” and has been held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (1997); Rome (2000); Manila (2003); Valencia, Spain (2006); Mexico City (2009); and Milan (2012).
Some financial assistance for participating in the weeklong pilgrimage to Philadelphia may be available.
For more information, to nominate a family, or to apply as a family to represent the archdiocese at this historical event, please visit www.archindy.org/wmf2015 or contact Scott Seibert at 800-317-236, ext. 1527, or 317-236-1527, or e-mail him at sseibert@archindy.org.
For general information regarding the World Meeting of Families as well as parish and school catechetical resources, visit www.worldmeeting2015.org. †
