September 1993
The President of ICCRS, Charles Whitehead, greeted the Holy Father in the courtyard of the Pontifical Palace in Castel Gandolfo on behalf of the 1.400 retreatants assembled there.
Holy Father,
We, the members of the International Council, with more than 14.00 leaders of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal from 90 different countries, wish to thank you for granting us this audience.
We come from families, parishes, prayer groups, communities, and special ministries, all actively engaged in the life and in the mission of the Church.
We came as pilgrims to Assisi, the home of St. Francis, to make a five day retreat with Father Raniero Cantalamessa. During these days we have listened with open hearts to his catechesis, and we have prayerfully asked the Holy Spirit to renew the Catholic Charismatic Renewal by renewing each one of us personally, so that we might experience our Baptism more powerfully through a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
We have been joined at our retreat by a few special friends from the Anglican Orthodox, and Pentecostal churches, and together we have been invited to commit ourselves to a closer relationship with Our Lord Jesus Christ, to an ever greater openness to the Holy Spirit, to humility, and to the loving service of God’s People in the Church and in the world, using the gifts of the Holy Spirit under the guidance of our pastors.
Holy Father, we remember with gratitude the words you spoke to our Council last year, when we celebrated 25 years of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal, and you gave praise to God with us for the many fruits it has borne in the life of the Church.
We have come to you today with our esteemed advisor, Monsignor Paul Cordes, to bring you greetings from the Catholic Charismatic Renewal all over the world, and to ask you to complete our retreat by again giving us your guidance and wisdom. We thank you for the inspiring teaching and leadership you give to the whole Church, and we want to encourage you in all that you are called to do in proclaiming the Gospel to the world.
Holy Father, we who come from many countries and represent more than 60 million Catholic men and women who have encountered the Holy Spirit in a new way through a personal baptism in the Holy Spirit, bring you our love and we assure you of our prayers and the prayers of the world- wide Catholic Charismatic Renewal. We humbly ask you, Holy Father, for your Apostolic Blessing.
Taken from the ICCRS Newsletter, November-December 1993
