Rome, 3 (NE – eclesiales.org) A true encounter of faith took place today in St. Peter's Square, during the celebration of the Meeting of Pope Benedict XVI with members of Ecclesial Movements and New Communities from all over the world. "You belong to different peoples and cultures, and here you represent all the members of the Ecclesial Movements and New Communities. Spiritually gathered around the Successor of Peter, you proclaim the joy of believing in Jesus, and renew your commitment as his faithful disciples in our time", said the Pope in the homily, which he pronounced during the celebration of Vespers.

St. Peter's Square was completely filled with pilgrims by the early hours of the afternoon. Approximately 250 thousand people attended the event, and pilgrims gathered in the Via della Conciliazione all the way to the Tiber River . Among the participants was a large delegation of pilgrims from the Christian Life Movement. More than 2000 of its members traveled to Rome to participate in the event. Throughout the meeting they expressed their joy and happiness for participating in the encounter with the Holy Father and with members of other ecclesial movements. Delegations from approximately 150 ecclesial movements were present. Dozens of delegations from ecclesial movements and new communities approved by the Holy See occupied special areas in St. Peter's Square.

Before the Pope arrived several videos were projected on the screens placed in St. Peter's Square and along the Via della Conciliazione. The videos recalled the first meeting of ecclesial movements with Pope John Paul II on May 30, 1998. Several texts from Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger were also read, and another video was shown with moments of the inauguration of his Pontificate. A choir interpreted several songs, including "I am not afraid", composed by a member of the Sodalit Family. Several Christian Life Movement members were part of the choir that interpreted the songs during this intense spiritual event in Rome.

Afterwards two participants of the Second World Congress of Ecclesial Movements and New Communities, held in Rocca di Papa between May 31 and June 2, shared their experiences. They were Salvatore Martinez, National Coordinator in Italy of the Renewal in the Holy Spirit, and Maria Luigia Corona, Cofounder of the Missionary Community of Villaregia.

At 5:30 in the afternoon, local time, Pope Benedict XVI arrived at St. Peter's Square through the "Arch of the Bell ". The Pope was welcomed with great joy by all the people present. In his white car, the Holy Father traveled around St. Peter's Square and the Via della Conciliazione, blessing the participants. After half and hour he reached the "sagratto", the area directly in front of the Basilica.

To his right were seated several founders and various key members of the ecclesial movements, specially invited for this solemn occasion. Among them was Luis Fernando Figari, founder of the Christian Life Movement, who would later address the Pope on behalf of the Movements, thanking the Pope and expressing their commitment to the new evangelization.

Archbishop Stanislaw Rylko, President of the Pontifical Council for the Laity, gave a welcoming address to the Pope, expressing his gratitude "to the Spirit for the gift of hope that the ecclesial movements and new communities represent for the Church. It is through these charisms that multitudes of men and women of our times have gone against the prevailing currents to discover the beauty of being Christian and to find joy in communicating it to others". "This can be seen from their festive presence in this open air cenacle here in Saint Peter's Square as they bear witness to the world how beautiful it is to be disciples of Christ, and that meeting Christ is the most fascinating adventure that we can experience", said Archbishop Rylko.

Front row: Mrs. Patti Gallagher Mansfield, Initiator of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal; Mr. Luis Fernando Figari, Founder of Christian Life Movement; the three initiators of the Neocatechumenal Way; Mr. Andrea Riccardi, Founder of the Community of St. Egidio

As part of the Vesper prayers, and after singing the "Veni Creator Spiritus", Andrea Riccardi, founder of the St. Egidio Community, Kiko Arguello, who begun the Neocatechumenal Way, and Rev. Julian Carron, President of the Fraternity of Communion and Liberation commented on the psalms and canticle. Some moments before a message from Chiara Lubich, founder of the Focolari, had been read. She was not able to be present due to health problems.

A passage from the Letter to the Romans was read, and afterwards the Pope began his homily, recalling "with emotion" the meeting that took place back in 1998 with Pope John Paul II. "A great evangelizer of our times, he has accompanied and guided you during his pontificate. On many occasions he defined your associations and communities as 'providential', above all because through them the Sanctifying Spirit awakens faith in the hearts of so many Christians and makes them discover the vocation received in Baptism, helping them to be witnesses of hope".

Movements, said the Pope, "have born from the thirst of the true life. They are movements for life under every aspect (...) If we want to protect life we must above all rediscover the source of life; then life itself must reemerge in all its beauty and sublimity; then we must let ourselves be vivified by the Holy Spirit, the creative source of life". He also invited movements to be "schools of freedom". "Ecclesial Movements want and must be schools of freedom" he stressed, saying that "in them, we want to learn true freedom (...) We want the true and great freedom, of which we are heirs. It is the freedom of the children of God. In this world full of false freedoms that destroy the environment and man, we want, with the power of the Holy Spirit, to learn to live together in true freedom". Such precise language for the comprehension of true freedom was intensely followed through the speakers and the giant screens placed in St. Peter's Square and throughout the Via della Conciliazione.

The Pope also highlighted the need to live unity. "The Holy Spirit, giving life and freedom, also gives unity. They are three inseparable gifts", he explained. "The spirit blows where He wants, and His will is unity made body, unity that encounters the world and transforms it". "I place the intentions of your Movements and Communities before the heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary, present at the Cenacle together with the Apostles (...) I specially invoke the effusion of the gifts of the Spirit, so that in our times we have the experience of a renewed Pentecost", concluded the Pope.

After the Holy Father's words, there was a liturgical remembrance of the Sacrament of Confirmation, characterized by the rite of fire, the invocation of the Holy Spirit and the profession of faith. Symbolizing the seven gifts of the Spirit, several torches were placed before the Holy Father to be lit by seven members of the ecclesial movements.

Marian presence -central in Pentecost- was not forgotten. Before concluding the Vespers, the Magnificat was sung, as was the Regina Caeli. Thousands of booklets, entitled "Pentecost Vigil" with the chants and prayers in Latin and Italian, were distributed by the Holy See.

Before the final blessing, Patti Gallagher, who with others began the Catholic Charismatic Renewal, and Luis Fernando Figari, founder of the Christian Life Movement, thanked Pope Benedict XVI, speaking in front of the tens of thousands of persons present in St. Peter's Square. After addressing the Pope they approached the Holy Father to express their respect and personal gratitude. The founder of the CLM kneeled before the Pope, expressing his devotion and fidelity to the Successor of Peter, in a particularly moving moment in the celebration.

Closing words in meeting of Ecclesial Movements were said by Founder of the CLM

Rome, 3 (NE – eclesiales.org) We offer the text of the words that Luis Fernando Figari, founder of the Christian Life Movement, addressed to Pope Benedict XVI during the Encounter of Ecclesial Movements and New Communities.

Most Holy Father,

On the occasion of this celebration of faith, I would like to share something that touches me deeply on meditating on that beautiful passage of the Holy Scripture that says: “I am standing at the door, knocking; if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to you and eat with you, and you with me” ( Rev 3:20). The Lord Jesus comes as one who asks to be welcomed. He respectfully knocks at the door and asks to be admitted before entering our personal sphere. How humble is Our Lord! His merciful love has no limits! He continues to call on the intimacy of each one, and he asks for a listening ear. How faithful is his perseverance! We perceive an eschatological purpose, but it begins here on earth with the call of Jesus. To listen to the Lord and to open the door to him means to meet him and to keep his word, and to take part in his transforming love. Those who respond as indicated by the Virgin Mary in Cana : “Do whatever he tells you” ( Jn 2:5), listen to Christ and obey him, and they open up to the Father who will reside in them. The meal together speaks of the communion to which we have been invited, but also of the path of communion and friendship with Jesus. I believe that this is one of those wonderful syntheses found in Scripture that encourage us to follow the path towards the ultimate encounter.

The Eternal Word, made flesh in the Immaculate Virgin Mary in order to redeem all human beings, comes to meet each of us in order to bring us to the wonderful gift of reconciliation, with God, with oneself, with others, with all of creation. He calls us with tender insistence to live our Christian life at every moment. He teaches us through his luminous presence among us to be people who live according to God's Plan. He brings forth our deepest identity and responds to the most pressing existential questions asked by human beings.

Today's world is to a great extent closed to the voice and light of Christ. The Church, Ecclesia Sua, with great love is trying to illuminate and give warmth to human beings. Just like the flames at Pentecost, today the fire of the Spirit is continually endeavoring to illumine minds, to enkindle hearts, to radiate and shine on life. This is why the Lord Jesus knocks at our door and asks for an unconditional response from the men and women of today.

All periods of history have their dark corners, and they are the challenge of each era. Personal crises, the rift between faith and life, stifling secularism, relativism, functional agnosticism, the loss of Christian identity, the hegemony of all that is superficial and humdrum, the lack of understanding of the meaning of human fulfillment according to God, new and old ideologies and psychologism that distance people from their path, massification, injustice, the scourge of poverty, violence — all of these are voices that often unknowingly clamor for an answer in truth and love that brings peace and reconciliation to people and peoples. This is a call crying out for the Lord Jesus! It is He and only He who is the answer to the fractures and concerns of human beings!

The Spirit who descended on Our Lady at the time of the Annunciation-Incarnation, the Spirit who was made manifest in tongues of burning fire and touched minds and hearts at Pentecost, is the same Spirit who in our times has given rise to a wave of ecclesial movements and other communities of the faithful to live the Christian life, to proclaim to the world that Christ is real and that He reconciles people, to show them their identity, and to invite them to love and communion and participation in the divine nature. It is God who comes to the aid of human beings and, as He has done on many other occasions during our two-thousand year history, He has given rise to movements within the Church that demonstrate rich ecclesial plurality and contribute in communion with Peter and under Peter to the great mission of the Church: to proclaim the Lord Jesus to the world and to invite to the transformation of humanity and all earthly realities according to the divine Plan.

Most Holy Father, grateful for your most appreciated teachings and for your so enthusiastic encouragement, the members of the ecclesial movements and new communities, in spite of our frailty, feel urged on to a greater commitment to the New Evangelization, to stimulate the drive towards coherence in the Church and eagerness to give witness, to search out new courageous methods and expressions to proclaim Christ and his teachings, based on the experience of those who have listened to his call, have heard his voice, and have met him in a life-giving encounter, giving witness of faith, hope and charity, in all the world and in all the undertakings of humanity, according to the gifts granted by the Holy Spirit.

With a deeply grateful heart, Most Holy Father, we ask you: Help us follow the path of Christ! Lead us! Confirm us in the faith! We thank you for everything.