As part of the ‘Year of Faith’, a two-day celebration of Evangelium Vitae will take place in Rome this weekend giving the faithful from around the world the opportunity to gather with the Holy Father in a communal witness to the sacred value of all life: The lives of the aged, the lives of the sick, the lives of the dying, the lives of the unborn, the lives of the physically and mentally challenged, and the lives of all those who suffer.
Evangelium Vitae is an encyclical letter released by John Paul II in 1995 on “the value and inviolability of human life”.
In addition, this event will offer the occasion to celebrate, affirm, and encourage all those who so tenderly and with self-abandonment follow in the footsteps of the Good Shepherd by tending to the physical, emotional, psychological, and spiritual needs of those who are aged, disabled, ill, unborn, homebound, dying or who suffer in any way.
The Holy See hopes that the number of people gathered in St Peter’s Square will be so great that all the world will be able to hear from Rome our Church’s choral expression of the very heart of Jesus’ redemptive mission: “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly” (Jn 10:10, Cf. Evangelium Vitae, 1).
On Saturday afternoon, June 15, there will be a pilgrimage down Via della Conciliazione to Pio XII Square, which will conclude with the recitation of the Creed in various languages.
On Sunday morning at 9:30, Holy Mass in St. Peter’s Square will be celebrated by the Holy Father.
In the Catholic Church’s calendar, there’s also a Day for Life dedicated to celebrating and upholding the dignity of human life. This year’s Day for Life in England and Wales falls on 28 July 2013. In Scotland, the Day is celebrated on 31 May. In Ireland, it will be celebrated on 6 October 2013.
dayforlife.org
We have a site dedicated to celebrating the dignity of life. Here you will find this year’s theme and topics covered in previous years. You can also read documents, released by the Catholic Church and her bishops on pro-life issues.
dayforlife.org/evangelium-vitae
Read Pope John Paul II’s encyclical letter ‘Evangelium Vitae’ on our Day for Life website.
annusfidei.va
Details of the ‘Evangelium Vitae’ celebrations on the Holy See’s official website for the ‘Year of Faith’
