This weekend thousands will converge upon Rome to celebrate in this Year of Faith, the Gospel of Life. John Paul II wrote in his encyclical Evangelium Vitae, “The Gospel of Life is at the heart of Jesus’ message. Lovingly received day after day by the Church, it is to be preached with dauntless fidelity as ‘good news’ to the people of every age and culture.” Let us join those in Rome by following the events, and by renewing our own dedication to proclaiming the Gospel of Life to all whom we meet each day.
The following is taken from the Year of Faith website and explains a little more about the day.
This gathering in Rome on June 15 and 16 is so very important. It will offer the opportunity for the faithful from around the world to gather with the Holy Father in a communal witness to the sacred value of all life: The lives of the aged, the lives of the sick, the lives of the dying, the lives of the unborn, the lives of the physically and mentally challenged, and the lives of all those who suffer. In addition, this event will offer the occasion to celebrate, affirm, and encourage all those who so tenderly and with self-abandonment follow in the footsteps of the Good Shepherd by tending to the physical, emotional, psychological, and spiritual needs of those who are aged, disabled, ill, unborn, homebound, dying or who suffer in any way. It is our hope that the number of people gathered in St. Peter’s Square will be so great that all the world will be able to hear from Rome our Church’s choral expression of the very heart of Jesus’ redemptive mission: “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly” (Jn 10:10, Cf. Evangelium Vitae, 1).
On Saturday afternoon, June 15, there will be a pilgrimage down Via della Conciliazione to Pio XII Square, which will conclude with the recitation of the Creed in various languages. On Sunday morning at 10:30, Holy Mass in St. Peter’s Square will be celebrated by the Holy Father.