Ten years ago, after a Conclave lasting a little over 25 hours, in the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican, Argentinean Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected as the new Pope and successor to Benedict XVI. The choice was announced after five votes and two days of Conclave to choose the 266th Roman pontiff. These years of Pontificate have been characterized by initiatives and reforms to engage all Christians in a new missionary thrust to bring the love of Jesus to all mankind.
As Catholic Church we pray for the intentions of the Holy Father and celebrate today a decade of apostolic dedication. Recall ten moments of Pope Francis with the Shalom Catholic Community:
1 – World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro in 2013
Thousands of young people were able to represent the Shalom Community. There was a space where people could get more information about the charism and purchase products. We counted on the participation of volunteer missionaries and the entire preparation of the Stations of the Cross was done by the Community. WYD also included the presentation of the Lolek Musical Spectacle at the Youth Festival.
2 – Private audience Moysés and the Holy Father in 2016
Moysés and the Pope talked about the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, the 35th anniversary of the Shalom Community in 2017, the main theme of the audience, and a new project of the Community to evangelize in the peripheries.
Moysés spoke to the Pontiff about the Convention that the Community promotes in Rome every 5 years, since the pontifical approval in 2012. He presented him the project for the year 2017 and the invitation for his participation. “The Pope was very happy, he was very excited about the proposal and expressed his great desire to be together with us”, said the founder.
3 – World Youth Day in Krakow in 2016
About a thousand young pilgrims of the Shalom Community were in Warsaw (coming from various parts of Brazil and more than 20 other countries in the world) to participate in a Missionary Week in the city, a period known as “Pre-World Youth Day”. The missionary activities generated many bonds of friendship and communion between the Shalom pilgrims and the young people and families of Warsaw.
On July 30, the Pope met with more than one and a half million young people at the World Youth Day Prayer Vigil at Campus Misericordiae in Krakow and stated that the answer to a world at war is the word fraternity.
4 – Shalom Convention 2017
Around three thousand young people, families, celibates and priests of the Shalom Catholic Community from over 26 countries met in Rome from September 3-9, 2017, to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the Community. On the morning of September 4, the Pope received them in audience in the Paul VI Hall.
5 – Gabriella Dias participates in Pentecost with the Pope
On June 9, 2018, Pope Francis made official the International Service for the Catholic Charismatic Renewal, called CHARIS. Gabriella Dias, a missionary of the Shalom Catholic Community, is one of the members of this new organization. During the months leading up to the Feast of the Holy Spirit, the members of the Charismatic Family were invited to live the period of preparation through prayer and intercession.
6 – World Youth Day in Panama in 2019.
With about a thousand pilgrims from the Community, the WYD in Panama was a milestone for YouthSh. At this event, Ana Gabriela sang for the Pope, along with other singers, and the Missionary Shalom band performed a concert on the main stage during the vigil.
7 – International Eucharistic Congress in Budapest 2021
Pope Francis presided over the closing Mass of the International Eucharistic Congress filling the Heroes’ Square, a famous tourist spot of the city. Missionaries from Hungary and other Missions in Europe were able to participate and represent the Charism.
The Shalom Catholic Community was represented by a group of more than 70 people, including missionaries and brothers from the Work in Budapest. The Budapest Mission was present at the Congress in order to evangelize the participants and the local population in the light of the Charism. An outstanding moment of the event was the testimony given by Moysés Azevedo, who spoke about the foundation of the Shalom Charism at the Eucharistic Congress of 1980.
8 – Community newly married couples receive blessing from Pope
During the General Audience, it is traditional for the Pope to meet with the newlyweds, who, according to custom, appear at the meeting wearing the same clothes they wore on their wedding day. One of the couples was Abraão de Araújo and Teresa Maria, missionaries of Life Community.
9 – Mission in Rome at events with the Pope
Present in Rome since 1992, the Mission in Rome represents the Charism in the Eternal City. Missionaries, young people, seminarists, families live the experience of living and being able to participate in official events with Pope Francis, such as Holy Mass, General Audience, Angelus.
The Mission in Rome is also responsible for the San Lorenzo Evangelization Center. Each week they hold evangelization events in St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican.
10 – Shalom Convention 40 years in 2022
On September 26, missionaries of the Shalom Catholic Community from around the world gathered for a private audience with the Holy Father Pope Francis. During the audience, the missionaries renewed their life offering at the feet of the Pontiff and he had the opportunity to address some words directly to the members of the Community.
“We are born at the feet of Peter’s successor and God’s grace is actualized in time. The kayrós is exactly the time filled by God’s grace. Therefore, within time, we stand every five years before the successor of Peter returning to our origins and thus renewing the dispositions of our hearts to offer our lives in Christ, with Christ, and for Christ to the Father,” explains Moysés Azevedo.