6,000 pilgrims arrive in Rome for Jubilee of Deacons

By Jean-Benoît Harel 

Etymologically, the word 'deacon' means “servant”.

4,000 of these “servants”, together with 2,000 others, are gathering in in Rome for three days, starting this Friday, February 21.

The deacons are coming to Rome for a Jubilee pilgrimage from over a hundred countries, including the United States, France, Brazil, India, Cameroon and Australia.

However, the “Servant of the Servants of God”, Pope Francis, will not be present: he has been in hospital for the past week at Rome's Gemelli Hospital.

Prayer vigil

The event kicks off this Friday in 12 of Rome's churches, with prayer at 3:30 p.m., followed by a series of meetings on the theme “Concrete signs of hope in diaconal ministry”.

On Saturday morning, Jubilee participants will be able to pass through the Holy Door of St. Peter's Basilica, one of the conditions for receiving the plenary indulgence granted during the Jubilee year, while a conference on the role of deacons in the Synodal Church will be held in the Auditorium de la Conciliazione, from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The day will conclude with a prayer vigil in the Vatican's Paul VI Hall.

On the final day, Sunday February 23, 23 deacons will be ordained during a mass in St. Peter's Basilica, presided over by the pro-prefect of the dicastery for evangelization, Archbishop Rino Fisichella.

Becoming pilgrims of hope

“This Jubilee will strengthen our faith, and help us to reach out even more to those on the peripheries.”

That’s the hope of François Fayol, a deacon in the diocese of Créteil, France, who is taking part in the Jubilee with France’s National Diaconate Committee (CND).

The three days in Rome will be a time of encounter, prayer and renewal for the 4,000 deacons and their families.

Archbishop Bertrand Lacombe, who is accompanying the CND during its Jubilee visit to Rome, adds that “we come bearing what we have in our hearts – charity, liturgy and the Word”.

“Let us be surprised by the way we become ever more ‘pilgrims of hope’,” the Archbishop urged, “first here in Rome, and then on our return to France.”