Each day of the week saw a different linguistic group in charge of prayer and study. The young SCJs at Foligno cordially received the guests as they arrived. That first day lasted deep into the night with each attendant introducing himself or herself, and with songs and dances from the different countries.
"A Day of Listening" was set up for the first full day by the French group. Important moments were: eucharistic adoration and time in the desert.
"A Day of the Church" was set up for the second day with the young people rising early to leave for Rome to participate at an audience with the Holy Father. The meeting with the successor of Peter and with pilgrims from all over the world was a great occasion for sensing the universality of the Church. After the audience, the people made a visit to the SCJ headquarters. The young people were thus enabled to learn a little more about the history and development of the Congregation. The afternoon saw them at St. John Lateran, the cathedral of Rome at which Father Dehon was ordained priest. The Polish group was responsible for the liturgical celebration.
The Portuguese group was responsible for the third day, "A Day of Witness". In the afternoon, the entire group visited Assisi and paid attention to the radical Gospel witness provided by Sts. Francis and Claire.
"A Day of 'Yes'" was the theme for the fourth day. The young people traveled to Loreto, the seat of the great shrine of Mary our model from whose lips that first 'yes' came. This shrine was very dear to Fr. Dehon who linked it very closely to the foundation of the Institute. The German group was in charge of the day.
Saturday was "A Day of Sending" and the last day of the gathering. The Spanish group was responsible. The Superior General, Fr. Virginio Bressanelli, terminated the meeting with a eucharistic celebration which featured a lengthy and deeply felt thanksgiving.
The days were intense. Very visible was the vitality of Fr. Dehon's charism and the desire of the young people to carry out their commitment to live it and spread it wide.
The topic was "The Economy and the Kingdom of God" and developed under a threefold dynamic: exposition (conferences, communications), discussion (work groups), and debate (plenary sessions).
Four perspectives underlay the conduct of work: biblical-theological, spiritual-Dehonian, ecclesial, and ethical-social. The first looked at the relationship between the Kingdom of God and the socio-economic realities according to the old and new testaments as well as the theological foundations of the Kingdom of God in which the Holy Spirit has become the seed of a new world of solidarity and communion. The second reflected upon the commitment of Fr. Dehon in the restoration of the Kingdom of God, in the contributions made by our spirituality toward promoting this Kingdom and the ways this has come about concretely in the two provinces. The third was a reflection upon the ecumenical assembly at Graz, on the social reality of the Kingdom in the local church and upon Lisbon specifically where SCJs have established several parishes and movements. The last led to a reflection on economic citizenship, market strategies, and the Kingdom of God. The whole was concluded by a presentation on the general topic, "Economy and the Kingdom of God" by a Christian economist.
The week was concluded by the formulation of a number of concrete proposals to assist the two provinces to respond to the great challenges that arise from such a complex and demanding field.
"The parish is about 6-8 square kilometers (2.3 to 3.1 square miles) with a population of about 40,000 of whom about 15,000 are Catholic. The parish is divided into seven districts and each in turn into smaller sectors each of which must contain no more than 15 families. Our pastoral work is based on base communities. Each district has its own small group of leaders, one responsible for social welfare, a liturgical group, a youth group, etc. Twice a week, I visit two or three sectors in each district.
Liturgical services include a weekday mass in the morning while the evening has a different kind of prayer: adoration, bible reading, Mass, holy hour, rosary. Each Sunday there are three masses in the morning and vespers in the evening. The church has a thousand seats. For the early Mass at 6:30, there are not enough places.
Catechetical services include different levels: children, young people, and adults. Baptism preparations of parents of newborn children last a month with four meetings and penance. Marriage preparations are done in groups. We are a small team that does the work and take three months with a meeting a week. The program concludes with a retreat and prayer day and another half day two days before the marriage. This year we had our first group with 52 couples of which 40 had already been married. Our second group had 19 couples and is still in progress (June). The third group will get under way on July 4 and already 32 couples have enrolled. Marriage celebrations in common are preferred as a way of saving money. On May 23, 28 couples were married together. The celebration began at 10:00AM and ended at 2:00 PM.. "
The pastoral workers are the pastor and a priest who comes every weekend and on special occasions, the members of the pastoral council (about 100), catechists (50 or so), those who belong to various parochial commissions and associations, the liturgical groups from each district, a few sisters and some philosophy and theology students who give a hand when they can.
The church also has its own school with 730 students from nursery to high school. We had to turn down a number of enrollments due to lack of space. We are in the process of adding to the building, but up to now everything is in the "wish" stage; we are looking for the necessary financial assistance.
Fr. Giampietro's letter concludes the regret that there aren't more personnel available and hopes that some can be found soon.