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April 29, 2018Renewal Programme for Missionaries of Mercy
Mercy is a theme very much close to the heart of Pope Francis and presenting the face of a merciful God to a broken and wounded world has been the running theme of his Pontificate
Following a decree from Pope Francis, 8 December 2015 - 20 November 2016 was celebrated by Catholics all over the world as the Jubilee of Mercy. During the Jubilee, the Pope commissioned over 1000 priests as special "missionaries of mercy" from all over the world to be heralds of God's mercy, especially to those most in need of healing in a broken world. The missionaries were to be facilitators for all, with no one excluded, of an encounter with the merciful God through preaching and hearing confessions. The missionaries were given the faculty to forgive even those sins normally reserved to the Holy See.
After the conclusion of the Jubilee Year, Pope Francis announced that the mandate of the missionaries of mercy would be extended for another two years. From 7-11 April 2018, the Holy Father again invited the missionaries to Rome with a view of a gathering of a meeting of all the missionaries on Divine Mercy Sunday. Frs. Thomas Sebastian and Paul Koenig, who are both missionaries of mercy working in our Vicariate were present at this meeting. The meeting was attended by almost 550 participants from all over the world.
Fr. Thomas Sebastian OFM Cap. with His Holiness Pope Francis
On the eve of Divine Mercy Sunday, a prayer vigil was held at the Church of Santo Spirito in Sassia with the Missionaries of Mercy serving as Confessors. Pope Francis celebrated the Mass of Divine Mercy Sunday with the Missionaries at St. Peter’s Square. On 9 April there were a series of lectures held in the Aula Magna of the Lateran University. There was also witness given by some Missionaries of Mercy. In the afternoon the missionaries were divided into different language groups and were given Catechesis on ‘Sin and conversion in the life of the priest’.
On 10 April Archbishop Rino Fisichella, President of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of New Evangelization gave a lecture on “the Missionary of Mercy According to Pope Francis”. It was followed by a Papal audience where he encouraged the missionaries to continue their mission. After the audience, the Pope took time to greet all the missonaries individually.
The meeting was concluded on Wednesday, 11 April with the Holy Mass presided over by Archbishop Fisichella at the Lateran Basilica.
Fr. Paul Koenig OFM Cap. with His Holiness Pope Francis