As part of the Jubilee celebrations for New Communities, Associations, and Movements, the Pentecost Vigil was held in the afternoon of June 7, presided over by Pope Leo XIV, as the Church readied itself for the coming of the Holy Spirit.
The Shalom Community played a significant role, presenting and leading the pre-vigil activities, which began with a concert featuring music bands from several ecclesial expressions. Shalom’s band performed two songs that resonated powerfully throughout St. Peter’s Square.
This was followed by personal testimonies from representatives of different movements and nationalities, who shared their experiences of conversion and encounter with God.
After the testimonies, Pope Leo XIV entered the packed square, welcomed with applause and joyful cheers from pilgrims, including missionaries from the Shalom Community of Life, Covenant Community, and Shalom Work from various countries.
The Community was also represented by our founder, Moysés Azevedo, and several members of the Community’s General Council: Fr. Saulo Dantas, Fr. Gean Fernandes, Fr. Adauto de Oliveira, Kleber Marinho, Paulo Henrique de Alburquerque, Marie France Riche, Enne Karol Venancio, Angélica Cunha, alongside Fr. Silvio Scopel, the Community’s International Assistant, and Fr. Francisco Tiago Soares, Regional Leader for Europe.
“Intimately Connected with the Spirit”
“The Creator Spirit, whom we invoked in song – Veni Creator Spiritus – is the Spirit that descended upon Jesus, the silent hero of His mission: ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me’ (Luke 4:18),” expressed Pope Leo XIV.
“At this Pentecost vigil, we find ourselves intimately connected by God’s closeness, by His Spirit that unites our stories with Jesus’. We are engaged in the new things God accomplishes, so that His will for life prevails over the will for death,” the Pontiff said in his homily.
The Pope emphasized that “we are a journeying people,” mentioning the meaning of “synodality”: “In this word, ‘syn’—which means ‘with’—reveals the secret of God’s life. God is not solitude. God is ‘with’ within Himself—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—and God is with us. At the same time, ‘synodality’ reminds us of the path—‘odos’—because where the Spirit is, there is movement, there is a journey.”
He also invited movements, associations, and new ecclesial communities to be “deeply connected to each of the particular Churches and to parish communities where you nurture and deploy your charisms. Close to your bishops and in synergy with all other members of the Body of Christ, we will then act in harmonious unity.”
To conclude the vigil, Pope Leo XIV blessed everyone present before once again passing through St. Peter’s Square in the popemobile, where the pilgrims serenaded him with the same enthusiasm and joy with which he had been greeted, shouting “Viva il Papa!”
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