It is Pope Francis himself who is presenting the X World Meeting of Families, to be held from June 22-26, 2022. He does so through a video message, released today and available on Vatican News and on the Youtube Channel of the Diocese of Rome. The logo for the event, promoted by the Dicastery for the Laity, Family, and Life and organized by the Diocese of Rome is presented along with it as well. The animated video of the logo is available on the Youtube Channel of the diocese of Rome.
The Meeting initially planned for 2021, will be held from June 22 to 26, 2022, in a time of hope and rebirth. The event, as also emphasized by the Holy Father, will take place in an unprecedented and multi-centered format, with local initiatives in dioceses around the world, similar to those that will take place simultaneously in Rome. While Rome will remain the designated venue, each diocese will be able to be the center of a local Meeting for its own families and communities. This is to allow everyone to feel like protagonists at a time when it is still difficult to travel because of the pandemic.
Family love: a vocation and a path to holiness is the theme of the X World Meeting, which will therefore be carried out in two parallel ways:
1. Rome will remain the main venue, where the Festival of Families and the Theological-Pastoral Congress will be held, both in the Paul VI Hall; and Holy Mass will be held in St. Peter’s Square. In particular, delegates from Episcopal Conferences and international movements involved in family ministry will participate.
2. At the same time, in individual dioceses, the bishops will be able to launch similar initiatives at the local level, starting with the theme of the Meeting and using the symbols that the Diocese of Rome is preparing (logo, prayer, hymn, and picture).
«Over the years – underlines Cardinal Kevin Farrell, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Laity, Family, and Life – this important ecclesial appointment has observed ever-increasing participation of families. The thousands of people who have participated in the most recent editions, bringing enrichment with their languages, cultures, and experiences, have been an eloquent sign of the beauty of the family for the Church and for all humanity. We need to continue on this path, seeking to involve more and more families in this beautiful initiative».
«It has to do with seizing a precious and unique opportunity for relaunching family ministry with renewed missionary drive and creativity, starting from the indications given to us by the Holy Father in the Exhortation Amoris Laetitia, that is, getting spouses, families, and pastors involved all together», commented the Cardinal Vicar, Angelo De Donatis.
Description of the Logo
The logo designed for the X World Meeting of Families recalls the oval shape of Bernini’s colonnade in St. Peter’s Square, the place which defines the Catholic Church par excellence, and it refers back to its original meaning that is the welcoming and inclusive embrace of the Mother Church of Rome and of her Bishop, extending it to every man and woman throughout time.
The human images under the dome, barely visible, and the cross hanging above them, represent husband, wife, children, grandparents, and grandchildren. They want to recall the image of the Church as a “family of families” proposed by Amoris Laetitia (n. 87) in which “The experience of love in families is a perennial source of strength for the life of the Church” (n. 88). The cross of Christ that looms up towards the sky and the walls of protection seem almost upheld by the families, who are authentic living stones of the ecclesiastical construction. On the left, along the thin line representing the colonnade, we notice the presence of a family that is in the same position as the statues of the saints placed on the columns of the square. These remind us that the vocation to holiness is a possible goal for everyone. They are meant to emphasize how it is possible to live holiness in the essentiality of ordinary life.
The family on the left, which appears behind the line of the colonnade, also indicates all the non-Catholic families, distant from the faith and outside the Church, who are watching the Church event that is taking place from the outside. The ecclesial community has always looked to these with attention. One can notice how dynamic the figures that are moving toward the right are. They are moving outwards. They are outgoing families, witnesses of a non-self-referential Church. They go in search of other families in an attempt to bring them closer and share with them the experience of God’s mercy.
The predominant yellow and red are a clear reference to the blazoning colors of the city of Rome, in a graphic design intended to express an intense bond with the community.
