March 2018 Newsletter – World Meeting of Families 2018

We are delighted to announce that the outline of the three-day Pastoral Congress is now available on our website. The Congress will run from 22-24 August in the RDS, Dublin and is packed with major panels, workshops, testimonies, cultural events and music performances throughout each day. We also have breakfast lectures in the mornings for everyone but especially for members of the business community. The Congress will include the daily celebration of the Eucharist.

The events of each day are guided by a key theme from Pope Francis’ document The Joy of Love (Amoris Laetitia), on love in the family, and will include topics on the joys and challenges of love, marriage and family life in today’s world. Young people and children can also have a faith experience at our tailored programmes for children (4-12 years) and young people (13-17 years).

Places for the Congress are limited and include guaranteed tickets for the Festival of Families and Final Mass, subject to availability. Children under 18 years go free but must have a ticket.

Find details on the Pastoral Congress outline programme here.
View our list of confirmed speaker so far here.
Book tickets to attend the World Meeting of Families 2018 events here.

ST PATRICK’S DAY – An invitation to prepare for the celebrations!
This St Patrick’s Day we invite you to embrace the theme God is Family, So are We in the many celebratory parades, concerts, plays and performances that will mark the feast day of Ireland’s patron saint. With St Patrick’s shamrock at its heart, this theme reminds us that God is family (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) and so are we, called to be what Pope Francis describes in the Joy of Love as ‘a living icon of the Blessed Trinity’.

A selection of resources for the St Patrick’s day celebrations have recently been dispatched to parishes throughout Ireland and the UK: car bumper stickers and window stickers bearing this year’s St Patrick’s day theme. Additional resources are available on the Amoris website – banners that can be used for parades and decorations, posters and colouring-in pages can all be downloaded from our Amoris.ie website: https://amoris.ie/patrick/

WHY NOT VOLUNTEER AS A GROUP FOR WMOF2018?
We invite existing groups resident in Ireland to volunteer for WMOF2018. Any group is welcome to apply to volunteer: choirs, sports organisations, walking groups, arts and crafts clubs, parish groups, youth organisations, music societies, college groups. It’s a great way to build new friendships, strengthen existing bonds, learn new skills… and most of all, have great fun!

Anyone from 18 years and over can apply either as an individual or in a group if they are a resident in the island of Ireland. Young people aged 16-17 years can volunteer if they do so as part of a group.

Read about the benefits of volunteering as a group, roles for groups, steps to volunteer as a group and other details here.

HOSTING PROGRAMME – Calling for more Hosting Homes!
We have received enquiries to be hosted by families from 32 countries across the globe – Africa, Asia, Australia, North America, South America. Our call-out to people in the Greater Dublin area to consider offering a room in their home to a visiting family/pilgrim is meeting with great interest and success with many offers received already! However, we need a lot more help as we are looking to find 2,000 beds for pilgrims who want to travel to Ireland for our great event in August.

• If you are based in Dublin and areas around Dublin and are interested in learning more about hosting pilgrims for WMOF2018, please call us on 0353 1 567 6800 or email us at [email protected]
• If you are coming to Dublin as a group or a family wishing to book accommodation, or if you require additional information and support, please visit our accommodation section for more information.

INTERNATIONAL CATECHESES IN PREPARATION FOR WMOF2018
The Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life in the Holy See has made available the International Catecheses for the World Meeting of Families 2018. The seven catecheses, one for each month from here to August, are available in five languages and accompanied by musical itineraries—one for each catechesis—and videos of music. They are built around the Gospel narrative of the loss of the 12-year-old Jesus and his recovery in the Temple (Luke 2:41–52), with threads woven between the text of Amoris Laetitia—which inspires the Dublin Meeting—and the unique story of the Holy Family of Nazareth that reveals how timely and prophetic the proclamation of the Gospel of the family is. Read more about the International Catechesis here.

REGISTER FOR WORLD MEETING OF FAMILIES 2018
Overseas registrations are increasing every day with thousands of people registered from over 62 countries! We have many thousands registered from all over Ireland as well. If you want to be sure you will be there, don’t forget to book as soon as possible. Tickets are subject to availability! Registrations also help us to plan better for everything that is required in every venue, languages, age groups, special needs, logistical needs, among other things. And to avoid disappointment! Booking for the Pastoral Congress is now open on our website and includes the possibility of booking free tickets for the Festival of Families and the Final Mass, subject to availability. Childen up to 17 are free but still need to register as part of the family group. We will update you on single day tickets for the Festival of Families and the Final Mass once this information becomes available. We look forward to welcoming families from all around the world to Dublin in August 2018 and hope that you will be able to be with us. Book now!