15 – 19 October 1985
Report
The VI International Leaders Conference of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal took place from the 11th to the 16th of May, at the “Ergife Palace Hotel” in Rome.
“Good News to the Poor” (Luke 4:18) was the theme of the Conference. With this conference we celebrate 20 years of Catholic Charismatic Renewal asking the Holy Spirit, who anointed Jesus and sent Him to preach the Good News to the Poor, heal the sick, free the captives, and proclaim the year of grace; to move all of us to fully evangelize all peoples, with a special love towards the most needy.
At the VI Conference 1000 delegates from 95 countries were present. Delegates of different languages and cultures were united by the love given by the Holy Spirit, as well as by the charisms of those who translated the talks into German, Spanish, French, English, Italian, and Portuguese.
Cardinals Suenens and Pironio, bishops Cordes, Milingo, Talavera, Garmendia, Noriega, Colomé, Da Costa, Taylor, S. Fernandez, and Cinense, Mother Theresa of Calcutta, Jean Vanier the founder of l’ARCHE and many other charismatics from throughout the world who, by their prayers, songs, teachings and testimonies, and by their many services, made it possible that the Conference be a blessing of God for everyone. We express to them, in a special way, our appreciation and gratitude.
The highlight of the Conference was the Papal audience on May 15. It took place in the hall of the Blessing. Here are Fr. Diego Jaramillo’s greeting words to the Pontiff and The Holy Father’s address to the delegates.
Most Holy Father,
The delegates of the VI International Leaders Conference of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal have come here today before your Holiness to hear your teaching and to receive your blessing.
We number about 1000 delegates from nearly 100 countries. We are men and women, young and old, religious and lay, bishops, priests and deacons, who have learned in the Charismatic Renewal a renewed manner of praising God our Father, with great confidence, spontaneity and joy. We have also learned in the Charismatic Renewal to proclaim that Jesus Christ is alive. That He is our Savior and that He is the Lord of our lives.
We have learned to petition the Holy Spirit to renew in us the charisms that he gave us at baptism and during the course of our lives. In a special way we asked the Spirit to renew the charisms we priests received with the imposition of hands. Also that the charisms that the laity have received by the prayer of the Church be renewed.
We have learned, Holy Father, to proclaim to all parts of the world that men and women should open the doors of their hearts to Jesus Christ the Redeemer and for this reason we have received with great joy the invitation made by your Holiness to make a commitment to a new evangelization. The new evangelization will be new in its zeal, new in its methods, new in its expression. We want to tell you Holy Father that we pledge ourselves to utilize all the opportunities and all the circumstances in our surroundings to proclaim Jesus Christ. In a special way we want to accept your message to pledge ourselves in this new evangelization on the occasion of the 5th century of the discovery of America and the second millennium of the birth of Jesus Christ.
Holy Father, in this VI Conference we have had as the main theme of our reflection, the text of the Gospel of St. Luke, chapter 4, where it says that the Holy Spirit overshadowed Jesus and moved Him to evangelize the poor. We are also asking for the grace and the strength of the Holy Spirit so that He will help us in our task of evangelization, especially in regard to the most needy so that we might construct with them the civilization of love.
Holy Father, we want to thank you in a special way for the grace of the encyclical on the Holy Spirit which you gave to the Church last year. We have read it, and mediated on it; we have preached it; we want to read, meditate and preach the message that we have received this year about Mary the mother of the Redeemer.
Holy Father, in these 1000 persons of the Charismatic Renewal are represented thousands and thousands of prayer groups in all the world. They, as we, are anxious to hear your teaching. In return we offer to you our faithfulness, our prayer and our love.
Taken from the ICCRS Newsletter May-June 1987
At the VI International Leaders’ Conference, Fr. Fio Mascarenhas, outgoing ICCRO chairman, made the following response to the Holy Father’s address to the delegates.
Holy Father,
Thank you for your words which have touched our hearts. Now we want to join with you in expressing our deep and authentic devotion to Mary, the Mother of God. The whole Church and all of us in the Charismatic Renewal take Mary to be our mother and model.
At our important Conference in 1981 you, Holy Father, dedicated the whole Charismatic Renewal, its members and its works to Mary, the Mother of the Redeemer. We thank you for this. We have felt her powerful protection and intercession, and so today we renew your act of filial trust, asking Mary to intercede for us.
Thank you for proclaiming the Marian year which begins very soon. We all commit ourselves to be more open to the graces of this Marian year so that we can experience more profoundly the role of Mary in the Mystery of Christ, the mystery of the Church and in the mystery of our own lives of faith.
Mary has taught us to sing the Magnificat, and we joyfully sing the Magnificat to God for the wonderful blessings of 20 years of Charismatic Renewal in the Catholic Church. And now by the theme of this Conference we commit ourselves to sing all the verses of the Magnificat. Like Mary we want to be devoted to bringing “Good News to the Poor”.
Pray for us, Holy Father, and bless us, as all together now we ask Mary: “Come with us on our journey, Holy Mary, come! “Ven con nosotros al caminar, Santa Maria, ven!”
Taken from the ICCRS Newsletter July-October 1987.
Photos
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