Pope Francis with members of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal in 2019. / Credit: Vatican Media
ACI Prensa Staff, Apr 9, 2025 / 18:11 pm (CNA).
As part of the Jubilee of Hope, a World Meeting of Prayer Groups of the Charismatic Renewal has concluded in Rome. The movement seeks to renew Christian life through a living experience of the Holy Spirit.
From April 4–6, organizers provided formation on “prophetic intercession” and a global meeting of prayer groups was held, attended by people from 70 countries.
Speaking with ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, Cathy Brenti, executive secretary of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal International Service (CHARIS), explained the origin and mission of the service.
In 2017 Pope Francis expressed his desire to create a single service for the ecclesial movement. Two years later, this desire became a reality with the birth of CHARIS, which currently is under the Dicastery for the Laity, the Family, and Life.
Unlike other ecclesial bodies, CHARIS is not a public association of the faithful but an entity established by the Holy See.
CHARIS was officially launched on Pentecost 2019 in the Paul VI Audience Hall at the Vatican in a ceremony attended by Pope Francis where he also spoke to participants.
Brenti recalled the “triple mission” the Holy Father entrusted to CHARIS on that occasion: to share the baptism in the Holy Spirit with the entire Church; to serve the unity of the body of Christ, the Church, without forgetting the diversity that comprises it; and to serve the poor and those most in need, physically or spiritually.
The executive secretary of CHARIS emphasized that its fundamental mission is “to encourage the entire charismatic renewal to fully live this triple dimension: evangelization, unity, and service to the poorest, as a stream of grace in the heart of the Church.”
‘A stream of grace’
For Brenti, the charismatic renewal is “a stream of grace” where people “experience the Holy Spirit as a person, knowing that, often, people ‘forget’ him and prefer to pray to the Father or the Son.”
“It is also a spiritual inbreathing that allows everyone to have a personal encounter with Christ, even if they are not Catholic or even if they have already been baptized,” she added.
Brenti emphasized that the Holy Spirit “is truly essential and central to our mission. He is the one who guides us and takes us to places we might never have imagined.”
On the occasion of the meeting held in Rome, Pope Francis addressed CHARIS, in which he urged the members of this service “to be witnesses and artisans of peace and unity and to always seek communion, beginning with their own groups and communities.” He also asked that their relationship with their leaders never be “a source of conflict.”
These words from the Holy Father were for Brenti “a precious gift, along with the hospitality” they received at the Vatican: “It is probably the first time in centuries that a group like ours was able to gather in the Courtyard of San Damaso, pray, sing, freely, and have a meeting,” she emphasized.
She said they were also able to pass through the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica and attend Mass at the Altar of Confession, “which was more than full of people from the charismatic renewal, as there were about a thousand of us. We were allowed to praise the Lord and sing as we are accustomed to.”
“At CHARIS, we are all at the service of everyone, with the aim of fostering communion and peace among all the entities in the charismatic renewal, bishops, and parish priests,” she concluded.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
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Pope Francis prays during Christmas Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica on Dec. 24, 2023. / Vatican Media
Vatican City, Dec 24, 2023 / 18:00 pm (CNA).
Below is the full text of Pope Francis’ homily for the Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord, delivered on Dec. 24, 2023, in St. Peter’s Basilica.
“A census of the whole earth” (cf. Lk 2:1). This was the context in which Jesus was born, and the Gospel makes a point of it. The census might have been mentioned in passing, but instead is carefully noted. And in this way, a great contrast emerges. While the emperor numbers the world’s inhabitants, God enters it almost surreptitiously. While those who exercise power seek to take their place with the great ones of history, the King of history chooses the way of littleness. None of the powerful take notice of him: only a few shepherds, relegated to the margins of social life.
The census speaks of something else. In the Scriptures, the taking of a census has negative associations. King David, tempted by large numbers and an unhealthy sense of self-sufficiency, sinned gravely by ordering a census of the people. He wanted to know how powerful he was. After some nine months, he knew how many men could wield a sword (cf. 2 Sam 24:1-9). The Lord was angered and the people suffered. On this night, however, Jesus, the “Son of David”, after nine months in Mary’s womb, is born in Bethlehem, the city of David. He does not impose punishment for the census, but humbly allows himself to be registered as one among many. Here we see, not a god of wrath and chastisement, but the God of mercy, who takes flesh and enters the world in weakness, heralded by the announcement: “on earth peace among those whom he favors” (Lk 2:14). Tonight, our hearts are in Bethlehem, where the Prince of Peace is once more rejected by the futile logic of war, by the clash of arms that even today prevents him from finding room in the world (cf. Lk 2:7).
The census of the whole earth, in a word, manifests the all-too-human thread that runs through history: the quest for worldly power and might, fame and glory, which measures everything in terms of success, results, numbers and figures, a world obsessed with achievement. Yet the census also manifests the way of Jesus, who comes to seek us through enfleshment. He is not the god of accomplishment, but the God of Incarnation. He does not eliminate injustice from above by a show of power, but from below, by a show of love. He does not burst on the scene with limitless power, but descends to the narrow confines of our lives. He does not shun our frailties, but makes them his own.
Christmas Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica on the night of Dec. 24, 2023. Vatican Media
Brothers and sisters, tonight we might ask ourselves: Which God do we believe in? In the God of incarnation or the god of achievement? Because there is always a risk that we can celebrate Christmas while thinking of God in pagan terms, as a powerful potentate in the sky; a god linked to power, worldly success, and the idolatry of consumerism. With the false image of a distant and petulant deity who treats the good well and the bad poorly; a deity made in our own image and likeness, handy for resolving our problems and removing our ills. God, on the other hand, waves no magic wand; he is no god of commerce who promises “everything all at once”. He does not save us by pushing a button, but draws near us, in order to change our world from within. Yet how deeply ingrained is the worldly notion of a distant, domineering, unbending, and powerful deity who helps his own to prevail against others! So many times this image is ingrained in us. But that is not the case: our God was born for all, during a census of the whole earth.
Let us look, then, to the “living and true God” (1 Thess 1:9). The God who is beyond all human reckoning and yet allows himself to be numbered by our accounting. The God, who revolutionizes history by becoming a part of history. The God who so respects us as to allow us to reject him; who takes away sin by taking it upon himself; who does not eliminate pain but transforms it; who does not remove problems from our lives but grants us a hope that is greater than all our problems. God so greatly desires to embrace our lives that, infinite though he is, he becomes finite for our sake. In his greatness, he chooses to become small; in his righteousness, he submits to our injustice. Brothers and sisters, this is the wonder of Christmas: not a mixture of sappy emotions and worldly contentment, but the unprecedented tenderness of a God who saves the world by becoming incarnate. Let us contemplate the Child, let us contemplate the manger, his crib, which the angels call “a sign” for us (cf. Lk 2:12). For it truly is the sign that reveals God’s face, a face of compassion and mercy, whose might is shown always and only in love. He makes himself close, tender, and compassionate. This is God’s way: closeness, compassion, tenderness.
Pope Francis brings a figure of the Christ child over to the nativity scene inside of St. Peter’s Basilica at the end of Mass. Vatican Media
Sisters and brothers, let us marvel at the fact that he “became flesh” (Jn 1:14). Flesh: the very word evokes our human frailty. The Gospel uses this word to show us that God completely assumed our human condition. Why did he go to such lengths? Because he cares for us, because he loves us to the point that he considers us more precious than all else. Dear brother, dear sister, to God, who changed history in the course of a census, you are not a number, but a face. Your name is written on his heart. But if you look to your own heart, and think of your own inadequacies and this world that is so judgmental and unforgiving, you may feel it difficult to celebrate this Christmas. You may think things are going badly, or feel dissatisfied with your limitations, your failings, your problems, and your sins. Today, though, please, let Jesus take the initiative. He says to you, “For your sake, I became flesh; for your sake, I became just like you”. So why remain caught up in your troubles? Like the shepherds, who left their flocks, leave behind the prison of your sorrows and embrace the tender love of the God who became a child. Put aside your masks and your armor; cast your cares on him and he will care for you (cf. Ps 55:22). He became flesh; he is looking not for your achievements but for your open and trusting heart. In him, you will rediscover who you truly are: a beloved son or daughter of God. Now you can believe it, for tonight the Lord was born to light up your life; his eyes are alight with love for you. We have difficulty believing in this, that God’s eyes shine with love for us.
Christmas Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica on the night of Dec. 24, 2023. Vatican Media
Christ does not look at numbers, but at faces. However, who looks at him amid the many distractions and mad rush of a bustling and indifferent world? Who is watching? In Bethlehem, as crowds of people were caught up in the excitement of the census, coming and going, filling the inns, and engaged in petty conversation, a few were close to Jesus: Mary and Joseph, the shepherds, and then the Magi.
Let us learn from them. They stood gazing upon Jesus, with their hearts set on him. They did not speak, they worshiped. Tonight, brothers and sisters, is a time of adoration, of worship.
Worship is the way to embrace the Incarnation. For it is in silence that Jesus, the Word of the Father, becomes flesh in our lives. Let us do as they did, in Bethlehem, a town whose name means “House of Bread”. Let us stand before him who is the Bread of Life. Let us rediscover worship, for to worship is not to waste time, but to make our time a dwelling place for God. It is to let the seed of the Incarnation bloom within us; it is to cooperate in the work of the Lord, who, like leaven, changes the world. To worship is to intercede, to make reparation, to allow God to realign history. As a great teller of epic tales once wrote to his son, “I put before you the one great thing to love on earth: the Blessed Sacrament… There you will find romance, glory, honor, fidelity, and the true way of all your loves on earth” (J.R.R. TOLKIEN, Letter 43, March 1941).
Brothers and sisters, tonight love changes history. Make us believe, Lord, in the power of your love, so different from the power of the world. Lord, make us, like Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, and the Magi, gather around you and worship you. As you conform us ever more to yourself, we shall bear witness before the world to the beauty of your countenance.
Pope Francis is greeted by a representative of Canada’s indigenous peoples upon his arrival in Edmonton, Alberta, on July 24, 2022 at the start of his six-day visit to Canada. / Vatican Media
Edmonton, Canada, Jul 24, 2022 / 16:04 pm (CNA).
Pope Francis arrived in Edmonton, Alberta, Sunday to begin his six-day visit to Canada.
During his cross-country journey, the 85-year-old pope is expected to meet with and apologize to indigenous Canadians for abuses committed at Church-run residential schools. The pope’s itinerary includes stops in Edmonton, Quebec City, and Iqaluit, the capital of Nunavut. He returns to Rome on Saturday, July 30.
Following a flight from Rome that lasted more than 10 hours, the pope was greeted at Edmonton International Airport by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and other dignitaries.
Pope Francis greeted representatives of Canada’s indigenous peoples inside an airport hangar.
The pope made no public remarks at the airport, but prior to his departure Sunday he tweeted the following message: “Dear brothers and sisters of #Canada,” the pope tweeted before his departure, “I come among you to meet the indigenous peoples. I hope, with God’s grace, that my penitential pilgrimage might contribute to the journey of reconciliation already undertaken. Please accompany me with #prayer.”
Pope Francis enters a hangar at Edmonton International Airport prior to meeting with representatives of Canada’s indigenous peoples on July 24, 2022. Andrea Gagliarducci/CNAPope Francis prepares to meet representatives of Canada’s indigenous peoples inside a hangar at Edmonton International Airport on July 24, 2022. At far left it Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Andrea Gagliarducci/CNAPope Francis prepares meets representatives of Canada’s indigenous peoples in the hangar of the airport in Edmonton on July 24, 2022. Vatican MediaPope Francis meets representatives of Canada’s indigenous peoples in the hangar of the airport in Edmonton on July 24, 2022, as Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (center) and other look on. Vatican MediaPope Francis meets representatives of Canada’s indigenous peoples in the hangar of the airport in Edmonton on July 24, 2022. Vatican Media
Bishop-elect Jacques Fabre speaks at the Eucharistic Congress in Atlanta in 2017. / Screenshot from YouTube
Vatican City, Feb 22, 2022 / 05:05 am (CNA).
Pope Francis has appointed Father Jacques Fabre as the new Catholic bishop of Charleston, S… […]
1 Comment
Bending low, they uplift the lowly. Led by the spirit, charismatics are serving the last, the least, and the lost with dedication and passion. May their tribe increase.
Bending low, they uplift the lowly. Led by the spirit, charismatics are serving the last, the least, and the lost with dedication and passion. May their tribe increase.