Key events for the forthcoming Year of Faith have been announced at a Vatican press conference which also unveiled the official logo depicting a boat as the sign of the Church.
Archbishop Rino Fisichella, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting New Evangelization, said he wants the Year of Faith to reach out to all baptised Catholics, including lapsed believers and those who “have the desire of God but cannot find signs of faith”.
“We are not hiding the fact that there is a crisis of faith, but it is only when one becomes completely aware of a crisis that one can find ways to remedy it,” the archbishop said.
The Year of Faith, intended to give momentum to a new evangelisation, will run from October 11, 2012, to November 24, 2013.
Among key events are:
- October 11 will see the opening liturgy in St Peter’s Square, on the 50th anniversary of the beginning of the Second Vatican Council, with about 35 “Council fathers” expected to be present.
- On May 18, Catholic movements and lay associations, both old and new, will gather in Rome.
- On the feast of Corpus Christi, June 2, simultaneous adoration of the Blessed Sacrament is planned at sites all around the world.
- On June 22, Archbishop Fisichella promised a “huge concert” in St Peter’s Square, led by a well-known (but unnamed) conductor.
- On July 7, seminarians and religious novices from around the world will arrive in Rome at the end of a pilgrimage.
- September 29 will be dedicated to catechists, and a multilingual pastoral guide to assist with catechesis will be published.
Sources: