Dear Brothers and Sisters,
From May 31 to June 4, 2017 (the Feast of Pentecost), Pope Francis is inviting the Catholic Charismatic Renewal to meet him in Rome to celebrate its 50th anniversary.
In 1967, a group of students from the University of Duquesne met for a retreat during which they received an outpouring of the Spirit. This event is considered to be the beginning of the Charismatic Renewal in the Catholic Church. Our Pope knows the Renewal well because he himself asked for an outpouring of the Spirit during an ecumenical meeting while he was still Archbishop of Buenos Aires. He has repeatedly invited the leaders of the Renewal and priests of all countries to spread the grace of the outpouring of the Spirit throughout the whole Church.
The Council and I felt it important that the Emmanuel Community should be associated with this major Church event. We therefore encourage you to come on the Emmanuel pilgrimage to Rome during Pentecost, 2017. The details of the program have not yet been worked out, but we do know that we will be meeting Pope Francis at 3 key moments:
– Wednesday May 31, during the morning on St. Peter’s Square;
– Saturday June 3, for the vigil of Pentecost;
– Sunday June 4, for the Pentecost Mass.
To close this pilgrimage, the Community will organize a major event for everyone in Rome on Sunday afternoon, June 4 and on Monday, June 5 with important testimonies from people such as Patti Mansfield.
We will offer two possibilities for participating in this pilgrimage:
– the full version from Tuesday, May 30 (evening) to Monday, June 5 (late afternoon);
– a shorter version from Friday, June 2 (late afternoon) to Monday, June 5 (late afternoon).
To enable us to assess the number of brothers and sisters who will be participating, we ask you to say whether you want to come by CLICKING HERE before June 25.
This action, which does not commit you definitively, will be a great help in organizing this pilgrimage.
(Laurent Landete – Extract from letter)