Registration for World Meeting of Families nears 12,000
June 25, 2015
The number of paid registrants for the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia was 11,821 as of June 15, according to a statement released at a Vatican press conference on June 25.
Besides the United States, the top nations for registrants for the gathering, which begins on September 22, are Canada, Vietnam, the Dominican Republic, and Nigeria.
“Let us put the families in the center; this meeting is theirs and it is for them: they are the protagonists, and they are the main recipients,” said Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, the president of the Pontifical Council for the Family. “The family builds the Church together and sustains society. With respect to this, I would like to announce that, during the days of the conference, we will present the results of some international research that has scientifically studied this positive influence.”
The event culminates in a Festival for Families on September 26 and a papal Mass the following day, which at least a million people are expected to attend.
“At the end of the Mass on Sunday, 27 September, Pope Francis will give the Gospel of Luke, the Good News of God's mercy, which is Jesus, to families from big cities on the five continents: Kinshasa (Africa), Havana (America), Hanoi (Asia), Sydney (Australia) and Marseille (Europe),” Archbishop Paglia added. “This is a symbolic gesture that will announce the sending of a million copies of this book to the five cities involved: we want the Gospel of Mercy to be announced in the great cities of the world, especially in poorer and peripheral neighborhoods.”
“I’m very pleased by the progress we’ve made in planning for the World Meeting of Families congress in Philadelphia,” Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia added at the press conference. “The family congress is the reason for the Holy Father’s journey to the United States, and Pope Francis’ public Mass on September 27 will cap a weeklong celebration of global family life. The Holy Father’s visit will have a wonderful preamble in the congress’ events, and Philadelphia can expect a beautiful and extraordinary week of festivities.”
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Further information:
- Conferenza Stampa in preparazione all’VIII Incontro Mondiale delle Famiglie (Philadelphia, 22 – 27 settembre 2015), 25.06.2015 (Holy See Press Office)
- World Meeting of Families
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