A delegation from the Council for Marriage and the Family of the Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference, led by Bishop Liam MacDaid, Bishop of Clogher, and including married people, family members and clergy, has travelled to participate at the 8th World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia this week. The theme of the meeting is “Love is Our Mission: The Family Fully Alive”. The World Meeting of Families takes place at the Pennsylvania Convention Centre and involves daily Mass, devotions, keynote addresses and multiple breakout sessions. Pope Francis arrives in Philadelphia this Saturday for the Festival of Families. The Holy Father will celebrate Mass on Sunday on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway outside the Philadelphia Art Museum.
Notes for Editors
· The World Meeting of Families has become the world’s largest family gathering, and brings together families from all over the world in faith and celebration. The World Meeting of Families was a pastoral initiative of Saint Pope John Paul II in 1992, and its aim was to look at strengthening the sacred bonds of the family unit across the globe. The first World Meeting of Families took place in Rome in 1994, the International Year of the Family. Every three years since 1994, families from all over the world are invited by the Holy Father to attend this global gathering. At the congress, families share their thoughts, dialogue and prayers, working together to grow as individuals and family units. Families can participate in discussion groups on the Christian family’s role in the church and society, led by many distinguished speakers (see www.worldmeeting2015.org).
· Delegation from the Irish bishops’ Council for Marriage and the Family attending the 2015 World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia: Bishop Liam MacDaid, Bishop Donal Murray, Bishop Emeritus of Limerick; Mrs Deirdre O’ Rawe, Regional Director, ACCORD, Catholic Marriage Care Service in Northern Ireland; Mrs Ann O’ Malley and Mr Dermot O’ Malley from the Archdiocese of Dublin; Ms Barbara Gilroy, Diocesan Director in the Archdiocese of Dublin, Ireland of ACCORD; Father Peter Murphy, Executive Secretary, Commission for Pastoral Care and the Council for Marriage and the Family, Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference.
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