This year, the Convention for the 40th anniversary of the Shalom Catholic Community will be held from September 23 to 28. In a great procession, missionaries and members of the Shalom Work from all over the world will go on a pilgrimage to Rome to celebrate together with Pope Francis and renew the Community’s life offering at the Pontiff’s feet. The theme chosen for this year is “Friends of God, Friends of the Youth and Friends of the Poor”.
“For us, after 40 years since the foundation of the community, the fact of celebrating our anniversary with Pope Francis during this convention is a way of saying that we want to offer our lives to God again, renewing our call to evangelize. God has created us as for this, to evangelize young people in deep communion with the Church, in deep communion with the Holy Father”, explains Gabriella Dias, responsible for the evangelization activities of the Community.
Photo: Valmon Matos | Shalom Community in audience with Pope Francis
The program will feature a meeting with Pope Francis
The most important moment of the Convention will be the meeting of the members of the Shalom Community with Pope Francis. The invitation was made by the founder, Moysés Azevedo, in a private audience with the Pontiff on April 25.
“The Holy Father welcomed our request with great affection. In September, with the grace of God, we will have our pilgrimage to Rome and the Convention of our 40th anniversary to renew the offering of our lives at the feet of Peter’s successor”, explains Moysés.
In addition to the meeting with Peter’s successor, the Convention will have an extensive program with Masses in the main basilicas of the eternal city. According to the Apostolic Assistant, the program is being prepared with great dedication and should be released soon.
One of the points that is still being discussed is having some of the activities held in other cities.“We have the desire to go to Assisi, because we went there at the last convention, and it was a very remarkable moment.” San Francisco is a patron saint of our Charism,” says Gabriella.
Photo: Wallace Freitas | Moysés Azevedo, Emmir Nogueira and pilgrims in the Basilica of San Francisco in Assisi, at the Shalom Convention for the 35th anniversary of the Community.
Pilgrimage to Rome is part of the tradition of the Shalom Community
Every five years, the Shalom missionaries go on pilgrimage to Rome for the renewal of their offering of life to the Church.“Our vocation was born at the feet of Peter, at the feet of Saint John Paul II, when our founder, in a Eucharistic celebration, offered his life for the evangelization of young people. So every five years, we want to renew this offering, because we know that God also renews his life offering for us; and with his grace, many brothers and sisters want to offer themselves to God for the evangelization of young people and, along with them, of the poor, of families, of children”, Gabriella recalls.
Representatives of all Shalom Community
Gabriella emphasizes that the pilgrims will represent the entire body of the community in Rome and will be able to renew the life offering before Pope Francis for the brothers who will not be present. Therefore, she invites those who wish to go, to ask God to know if this is His Will. “Some of us will have to live this moment at a distance, but for many of us, this pilgrimage is God’s will! So I want to invite each brother to stand before God and ask the Lord if He wants you to be there in Rome renewing your offering at Peter’s feet, to God, on behalf of the Community, because those who will be there, will be representing the whole community. It’s very important to know that”.
Moysés Azevedo and Emmir Nogueira with Pope Francis at the 35th Shalom Convention
Register now!
To participate in the entire program of the Convention, it is necessary to make a registration that will give pilgrims access to all events: conferences, presentations and celebrations, including the ticket for the audience with the Holy Father, Pope Francis. In addition, the registration fee includes the Shalom Pilgrim Kit.
Registration for the Shalom convention will have determined time and limited spots. The first promotion costs €70 (seventy Euros) and will be available from 00:00h on the 6th until 24:00h on June 20th or while spots last. To register, simply access the Convention’s official website, register and pay the Registration Fee. The individual, non-transferable registration fee is non-refundable even in the event of withdrawal by the participant.
Service
Shalom Convention 40 years
Date: September 23 – 28
Location: Rome
Theme: Friends of God, Friends of the Young and Friends of the Poor