This week, from January 20-26, 2024, the Order’s communications team had a unique experience in Rome. In addition to the meetings of those responsible for communication during the first days, they participated in the XIV Seminar on Communication of the Pontifical University of Santa Croce and in the Jubilee of Communication.
Santa Croce Seminary
On Wednesday, January 22, the Professional Seminar on Institutional Communication began at the Pontifical University of Santa Croce under the theme “Communication and Evangelization: Context, Attitudes and Experiences. The seminar brought together more than 600 participants, including communicators from dioceses, congregations, ecclesial movements and media experts from all over the world.
After the inaugural conference given by the Pro-Prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization, Msgr. Rino FisichellaThe various presentations, debates and workshops that marked this seminar in the center of Rome began. Fr. Reinaldo JaranillaThe General Curia’s communications team, said that what they take away from these days “is the element of Truth. Sometimes, among communicators, we can be channels of distortion, and that is something we must avoid. Our call is to transmit what we are already living and make visible the truth of the Gospel”.
“To communicate is to go out of yourself a little, to give something of myself to the other, and communication is not only the going out but also the encounter with the other. Knowing how to communicate is a great wisdom, a great wisdom” – Pope Francis, Jubilee of communicators 2025.
Another highlight was the participation in practical workshops on creativity in evangelization. Vanessa Pagiola, from the communication team of St. Thomas of Villanova Province, expressed that “the most important thing I have learned is unity. We are together to bring Jesus, to communicate Jesus. As the Pope said, we need to communicate the truth, and that encourages us to move forward”.
For three days, members of the Order’s communication team attended this course which focused on highlighting the will and need for evangelization today and was framed within the framework of the Holy Year 2025.
A Jubilee that marked the hearts of communicators
During the weekend, the participants joined in the events of the Jubilee of Communication, celebrated at the Vatican on the occasion of the feast of St. Francis de Sales, patron saint of communicators .
The Jubilee began on Friday with the inaugural Mass in the Basilica of St. John Lateran and on Saturday, the 25th, with a pilgrimage to the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica. As expressed by Fr. Juan Manuel ZanuttiThe members of the communications team of the Province of St. Thomas of Villanova were able to renew their spiritual and professional commitment: “Being here, in the Vatican, invites us to renew our faith, our hope and our mission as communicators. We have the best message, the message of Jesus, who is Truth incarnate, as our father St. Augustine used to say”.
“We arrived at the Vatican together, we entered the Holy Door of St. Peter’s together, we were together with the Pope and I think this also gave meaning to this week, especially living what the Jubilee proposes to us: to live it as messengers, as pilgrims of hope” – Fr. Antonio CarrĆ³n
After attending the cultural event entitled ‘In Dialogue with Maria Ressa and Colum McCann’. in the Paul VI Hall and accompanied by the music of Maestro Uto Ughi, Pope Francis addressed all those attending the Jubilee. The Pontiff, who joked that on an empty stomach one could not read a 9-page speech, improvised a few words: “To communicate is to go out a little of yourself, to give something of myself to the other, and communication is not only the way out but also the encounter with the other. To know how to communicate is a great wisdom, a great wisdom”.
On Sunday 26, the communicators participated in the Sunday Mass of the Word of God in St. Peter’s Basilica and in the Angelus prayer that marked the closing of the week. Fr. Ismael XurucThe General Council member summarized the experience: “We have begun a pilgrimage that does not end here. We take with us the commitment to be creative in our evangelization and to respond with courage to the challenges of the digital continent.
In this sense, Fr. Antonio CarrĆ³nThe General Council member, concluded that this week “has been very special because of the meeting of so many people who are collaborating in the communicative mission of the Order, but, in addition, doing so in the context of the Jubilee gives it even greater relevance. Today we have arrived together at the Vatican, we have entered the Holy Door of St. Peter’s together, we have been together with the Pope and I believe that this has also given meaning to this week, especially living what the Jubilee proposes to us: to live it as messengers, as pilgrims of hope”.
