Pope’s message to congress on pilgrimages, shrines

(September 27, 2010) Pope Benedict XVI gave his blessing to the Second World Congress on the Pastoral Care of Pilgrimages and Shrines that began on Monday in the Spanish pilgrimage city of the Santiago de Compostela, reminding participants that shrines are a manifestation of Christian life and a space of evangelization. The September 27-30 congress has as its theme, “So he went in to stay with them” taken from Luke’s Gospel on the episode of the disciples of Emmaus. In a message to Archbishop Antonio Maria Vegliò,president of the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People, and Archbishop Julián Barrio, Archbishop of Santiago de Compostela, the Holy Father reminded the participants of his own upcoming visit to the city on November 6, which he said he wants to live in the spirit of the Successor of Peter on a pilgrimage to bring the saving message of the Risen Christ and strengthen his brothers in faith. The Pope noted the great ability of pilgrimages to bring together a large number of pilgrims and religious tourists, some of whom are in complicated human and spiritual situations, somewhat distant from living the faith and with a weak ecclesial affiliation. In order to offer a pilgrim the opportunity to discover the Lord, a shrine should offer moments and spaces for both personal and community prayer, with attention to devotional practices. He said shrines should also be lighthouses of charity with concrete works of solidarity and mercy, and constant readiness to listen, favouring in particular the faithfuls’ reception of the Sacrament of Reconciliation and taking part worthily in the Eucharistic celebration, which he said should be the centre and apex of all the pastoral activity of shrines.
The Vatican on Friday officially confirmed Pope Benedict XVI’s two-day pastoral visit to Spain in November this year. On Nov. 6, he will arrive in Santiago de Compostela to celebrate the Holy Year there. The Holy Year is marked in Santiago de Compostela every time the July 25 feast of St. James the Apostle (called Santiago in Spanish) falls on a Sunday, such as this year. That evening he will proceed to Barcelona, where, the following morning, he will celebrate Mass in the Church of Sagrada Familia (Holy Family) during which he will dedicate the church.