The 3rd Worldwide Meeting of the Missionaries of Mercy, initially scheduled for spring 2020 but postponed due to the pandemic, is being held in Rome from April 23 to 25, 2022.
These priests, for whom the Sacrament of Reconciliation is at the heart of their ministry, will be in Rome from April 23 to 25 for a meeting on the theme: "The Missionary of Mercy: a sign of welcome". Among them, several will come from Ukraine. Their mission finds its origin in the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, which took place in 2016.
The Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization is organizing this gathering, which will be attended by 400 priests from around the world. Among the nations represented are many countries from North America, Latin America, and Asia, but also from Africa – Nigeria, Mali, Malawi, Kenya, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Guinea, and Cameroon – and Europe. There will also be priests from Ukraine, who obtained special visas to leave the country. These Missionaries of Mercy come from regions of western Ukraine: the Khmelnytskyi Oblast, the Chernivtsi Oblast, the Ternopil region, and Hnizdychiv in the Lviv Oblast.
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Who are the Missionaries of Mercy?
The Missionaries of Mercy have received a particular mission from Rome to administer the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Most often, they are diocesan priests or religious who request a letter of recommendation from their bishop and receive their mission from the Vatican. The bishop himself is also legitimate in calling upon one or another priest from his diocese whom he believes will be able to lead the faithful to experience liberating forgiveness.
"During Lent of this Holy Year, I intend to send out Missionaries of Mercy," wrote Pope Francis, the originator of this initiative, in Misericordiae Vultus, the Bull of Indiction for the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy which took place in 2016. "They will be a sign of the Church’s maternal solicitude for the People of God, enabling them to enter deeply into the riches of this mystery, so fundamental to the faith. They will be priests to whom I will grant the authority to pardon even those sins reserved to the Apostolic See, so that the breadth of their mandate as confessors will be evident. They will be, above all, living signs of the Father’s readiness to welcome those in search of his pardon. They will be missionaries of mercy because they will be facilitators of a truly human encounter, a source of liberation, rich with responsibility for overcoming obstacles and starting a new life of Baptismal fruitfulness," it is specified.
The number of Missionaries of Mercy worldwide has continued to increase since their creation by the Supreme Pontiff. There are currently 1,040.
On the Agenda
During this 3rd worldwide meeting, opened by Archbishop Rino Fisichella, Prefect of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization, the Missionaries will be able to meet and share their experiences and pastoral practices developed during the pandemic. They will concelebrate at the Mass for Divine Mercy Sunday, presided over by the Holy Father, on April 24 at 10:00 a.m. in St. Peter's Basilica. They will meet the Pope again the following day during an audience. Among the speakers during these days: Cardinal Raniero Cantalamessa, Preacher of the Pontifical Household, and Father Damián Guillermo Astigueta, Professor at the Faculty of Canon Law of the Pontifical Gregorian University.
Source: Vatican News