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August 20, 2022
Ras Al Khaimah.
The AVOSA Edition of the World Meeting of Families 2022 took place today, 20 August 2022, at St. Mary’s School Ras Al Khaimah. The theme of the event, organised by AVOSA Family Ministry, was “Family Love: A Vocation and a Path to Holiness” with focus on ‘Resilience and Reinforcement of Families’.
Around 700 registered participants from all the parishes of the UAE attended the event which was the local edition of the 10th World Meeting of Families held in Rome from 22-26 June, coinciding with the conclusion of the Year of the Family, 2021-2022.The meeting is an initiative to reach out to the families of the Vicariate through the sharing of seven-point catechesis laid out by Pope Francis for the event..The various points in the catechesis include ‘Vocation and Family’, ‘Called to Holiness’, ‘Nazareth: Rendering Love Normal’, ‘We are all Children, We are all Brothers and Sisters’, ‘Fathers and Mothers’, ‘Grandparents and the Elderly’ and ‘May I, Thank You, Pardon Me’.
The event was opened by His Excellency Bishop Paolo Martinelli, Apostolic Vicar of Southern Arabia, His Excellency Bishop Paul Hinder, Apostolic Vicar Emeritus and Msgr. Kryspin Dubiel, the Charge D’Affaires of the Apostolic Nunciature in the United Arab Emirates.
“Family life is a vocation, to be rediscovered by living in the joy of Divine Love. The Family is also the Domestic Church where we learn to pray together and to accept one another as brothers and sisters and to live in unity as one Body. Marriage is a real vocation in the Church - the vocation to love. The joy of love is greater than all our difficulties”, Bishop Paolo remarked during his opening address.
There were dedicated groups for children, teenagers, young adults, parents and grandparents and breakout sessions focusing on the seven-point catechesis. Each session was led by a different resource person from the Vicariate. Live music for the event, which marked the opening of the gathering, was animated by the popular music band Master Plan.
The meeting will conclude with a Mass followed by a “Festival of Families” in the evening. The Festival will consist of testimonies by families, activities and cultural performances by couples, children and parish communities.
The Meeting is being organized by the AVOSA Family Ministry, headed by Fr. Peter Fernando, the Director of the Family Ministry in the Vicariate, who is assisted by several committed couples and families from all the parishes of the Vicariate.