Pope Francis says he will visit Philadelphia in September 2015, marking his first apostolic visit to the United States.
The news came this morning when the Holy Father made the announcement during his address at the start of “The Complementarity of Man and Woman: An International Colloquium.” The three-day conference is being held at the Vatican through Wednesday.
“I wish to confirm according to the wishes of the Lord, that in September of 2015, I will go to Philadelphia for the World Meeting of Families,” he said.
The colloquium being held at the Vatican this week is sponsored by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and co-sponsored by the Pontifical Council for the Family, the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, and the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity.
The conference is bringing together leaders and scholars from various religions worldwide “to examine and propose anew the beauty of the relationship between the man and the woman, in order to support and reinvigorate marriage and family life for the flourishing of human society.”
The Holy Father, during his remarks, admitted that the family is under crisis and urged those gathered to bear in mind that young people represent our future.
“Commit yourselves,” he said, “so that our youth do not give themselves over to the poisonous environment of the temporary, but rather be revolutionaries with the courage to seek true and lasting love, going against the common pattern.”
Moreover, he warned against “falling into the trap of being swayed by political notion.”
“Family is an anthropological fact – a socially and culturally related fact,” he said. “We cannot qualify it based on ideological notions or concepts important only at one time in history. We can’t think of conservative or progressive notions. Family is a family. It can’t be qualified by ideological notions. Family is per se. It is a strength per se.”
Father William Donovan, the priest serving as a liaison between the archbishop of Philadelphia and the Vatican’s family council, spoke in October at the synod on the family about the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia, to take place Sept. 22-27, 2015.
***
On ZENIT’s Web page:
Full translation of Pope’s address: http://www.zenit.org/en/articles/pope-francis-address-at-opening-of-colloquium-on-complementarity-of-man-and-woman
Interview Related to World Congress of Families: http://www.zenit.org/en/articles/synod14-liaison-for-philadelphia-family-meeting-says-world-is-ready-to-celebrate-the-family
On the NET:
For more information on the World Meeting of Families 2015 Philadelphia: http://www.worldmeeting2015.org/
On the Colloquium on the Complementarity of Man and Woman: http://www.humanum.it
