Pope Francis issued an Apostolic Letter motu proprio today, in which he transfers general responsibility for the creation, discipline and administration of Catholic shrines and sanctuaries throughout the world, to the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization.
In the Church, Shrines have a great significance (Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments, Directory for Popular Piety and Liturgy. Principles and Orientation, 2002, 263) and to make a pilgrimage is a genuine profession of faith. Through contemplation of sacred images, in fact, we can hope to know more clearly the closeness of God who opens the heart to the confidence of our deepest desires being heard and answered (V General Conference of the Latin-American and Caribbean Bishops, Aparecida Document, 29 June 2007, 259). Popular piety, which is an authentic expression of the spontaneous missionary activity of the People of God (Evangelii Gaudium, 122), finds in a Shrine a privileged place where the beautiful tradition of prayer, devotion and trust in the mercy of God, inculturated into the life of every people, can be expressed.
From the very first centuries, in fact, people have undertaken pilgrimages first to the places where Jesus Christ lived, proclaimed the mystery of the Father's love and, above all, where tangible signs of the resurrection can be found: the empty tomb. Pilgrims then made their way to places where, according to various traditions, the tombs of the Apostles can be found. Through the course of the centuries, finally, pilgrimages have also been made to places - now involving the majority of such voyages - to places where popular piety has witnessed first hand the mysterious presence of the Mother of God, the Saints and the Blesseds (Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerants, The pilgrimage of the great Jubilee of the year 2000 (25 April 1998), 12-17).
Shrines remain to this day in every part of the world as particular signs of the simple and humble faith of believers, who find in these sacred places the basic dimension of their believing existence. Here, they deeply experience God's closeness, the tenderness of the Virgin Mary and the company of the Saints: an experience of true spirituality which cannot be evaluated, without reducing the actions of the Holy Spirit and the life of grace. Many Shrines have played a major part in the lives of people, families and communities, and they have shaped the identities of generations, even affected the history of some nations.
The great influx of pilgrims, the humble and simple prayer of the people of God combined with various liturgical celebrations, the granting of so many graces which many believers attest to having received and the natural beauty of these places allow us to attest to the fact that Shrines, in various forms, express and irreplaceable opportunity for evangelization in our times.
These places, in spite of the crises of faith that are invading the contemporary world, are still seen as sacred places toward which pilgrims come to find a moment of rest, silence and contemplation in the midst of lives that are sometimes frantic, especially in modern days. A hidden desire creates in the hearts of many people a nostalgia for God; and Shines can be true places of refuge where they can rediscover themselves and regain the strength needed for their own conversion. Finally, in the Shrine, the faithful can receive support for their ordinary journey in parishes and in Christian communities. This osmosis between pilgrimage to a Shine and everyday life is a source of great help for pastoral work, to rekindle commitment to evangelization through more convincing witness. Therefore, journeying toward the Shrine and participating in the spirituality that these places express are already acts of evangelization which are worthy of being valued for their intense pastoral value (Evangelii Gaudium, 124, 126).
By their very nature then, Shrines are sacred places where the proclamation of the Word of God, the celebration of the Sacraments, in particular Reconciliation and the Eucharist, and the witness of charity express the great commitment of the Church to evangelization; and for this reason, they stand as genuine places of evangelization, where from the time of the first proclamation to the celebration of the sacred mysteries, the powerful action through which the mystery of God is at work in the lives of people is made present.
Through the spirituality that belongs to each Shrine, pilgrims are led with evangelizing pedagogy (Evangelii nuntiandi, 48) to a more responsible level of involvement both in their Christian formation and in the necessary witness of charity that flows from it. Shrines also contribute greatly to the catechetical commitment of the Christian community (Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerants, The Shrine, memory, presence and profession of the living God, 8 May 1999, 10), transmitting in fact with consistency to all times the message that began at the foundation of the Church, enriches the lives of believers and still offers them the reasons for commitment to faith (cf 1 Thess 1:3) which are more mature and aware. Finally, in Sanctuaries, doors are opened wide to the sick, to persons with disabilities and above all to the poor, the marginalized, refugees and immigrants.
In the light of these considerations, it is clear that Shrines are called to play a role in the new evangelization of society today and that the Church is called to pastorally appreciate the movements of the heart that are expressed through pilgrimages to Shrines and places of devotion.
For this reason, wanting to encourage the development of pastoral activities being undertaken in the Church's Shrines, I have decided to transfer to the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization, the responsibility which, in virtue of Article 97, part 1 of the Apostolic Constitution Pastor Bonus, have previously been attributed to the Congregation for the Clergy and also those proposed by Article 151 of the same Constitution regarding voyages for pious reasons, without prejudice, however, to the competences of the legitimate ecclesial Authority and those which, in virtue of special laws, have been attributed to other bodies pertaining to certain Shrines.
As a result, I establish that in the future the following will be the tasks entrusted to the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization:
a. the creation of international Shrines and the approval of respective statues, following the norms of Canons 1232-1233 of the Code of Canon Law;
b. the study of and implementation of measures to promote the evangelizing role of Shrines and the cultivation within them of popular piety;
c. the promotion of an organic pastoral care of Shrines as places of formation in the new evangelization;
d. the promotion of national and international encounters that encourage common efforts at renewing the pastoral work of popular piety and pilgrimage to places of devotion;
e. the promotion of specific formation for staff members of Shrines and places of prayer and devotion;
f. vigilance so that pilgrims are offered, in places to which they travel, coherent and supported spiritual and ecclesial assistance that allows them to maximize the fruitfulness of their experiences;
g. cultural and artistic enhancement for Shrines according to the pulchritudinis (the path of beauty), as a particular mode of the Church's evangelization;
All that I have determined with this Apostolic Letter issued Motu proprio, I order to be observed in all its parts, notwithstanding anything to the contrary even if it be worthy of special mention, and I establish that it will be published in l'Osservatore Romano, entering into effect fifteen days after its publication, and then included in the Acta Apostolicae Sedis.
Given at Vatican City on the 11th day of February 2017
Liturgical memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes, in the fourth year of my Pontificate
Francis
Sanctuarium in Ecclesia
Apostolic Letter of His Holiness, Pope Francis in the form of a Motu proprio
with which he transfers the competence for Sanctuaries
to the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization
In the Church, Shrines have a great significance (Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments, Directory for Popular Piety and Liturgy. Principles and Orientation, 2002, 263) and to make a pilgrimage is a genuine profession of faith. Through contemplation of sacred images, in fact, we can hope to know more clearly the closeness of God who opens the heart to the confidence of our deepest desires being heard and answered (V General Conference of the Latin-American and Caribbean Bishops, Aparecida Document, 29 June 2007, 259). Popular piety, which is an authentic expression of the spontaneous missionary activity of the People of God (Evangelii Gaudium, 122), finds in a Shrine a privileged place where the beautiful tradition of prayer, devotion and trust in the mercy of God, inculturated into the life of every people, can be expressed.
From the very first centuries, in fact, people have undertaken pilgrimages first to the places where Jesus Christ lived, proclaimed the mystery of the Father's love and, above all, where tangible signs of the resurrection can be found: the empty tomb. Pilgrims then made their way to places where, according to various traditions, the tombs of the Apostles can be found. Through the course of the centuries, finally, pilgrimages have also been made to places - now involving the majority of such voyages - to places where popular piety has witnessed first hand the mysterious presence of the Mother of God, the Saints and the Blesseds (Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerants, The pilgrimage of the great Jubilee of the year 2000 (25 April 1998), 12-17).
Shrines remain to this day in every part of the world as particular signs of the simple and humble faith of believers, who find in these sacred places the basic dimension of their believing existence. Here, they deeply experience God's closeness, the tenderness of the Virgin Mary and the company of the Saints: an experience of true spirituality which cannot be evaluated, without reducing the actions of the Holy Spirit and the life of grace. Many Shrines have played a major part in the lives of people, families and communities, and they have shaped the identities of generations, even affected the history of some nations.
The great influx of pilgrims, the humble and simple prayer of the people of God combined with various liturgical celebrations, the granting of so many graces which many believers attest to having received and the natural beauty of these places allow us to attest to the fact that Shrines, in various forms, express and irreplaceable opportunity for evangelization in our times.
These places, in spite of the crises of faith that are invading the contemporary world, are still seen as sacred places toward which pilgrims come to find a moment of rest, silence and contemplation in the midst of lives that are sometimes frantic, especially in modern days. A hidden desire creates in the hearts of many people a nostalgia for God; and Shines can be true places of refuge where they can rediscover themselves and regain the strength needed for their own conversion. Finally, in the Shrine, the faithful can receive support for their ordinary journey in parishes and in Christian communities. This osmosis between pilgrimage to a Shine and everyday life is a source of great help for pastoral work, to rekindle commitment to evangelization through more convincing witness. Therefore, journeying toward the Shrine and participating in the spirituality that these places express are already acts of evangelization which are worthy of being valued for their intense pastoral value (Evangelii Gaudium, 124, 126).
By their very nature then, Shrines are sacred places where the proclamation of the Word of God, the celebration of the Sacraments, in particular Reconciliation and the Eucharist, and the witness of charity express the great commitment of the Church to evangelization; and for this reason, they stand as genuine places of evangelization, where from the time of the first proclamation to the celebration of the sacred mysteries, the powerful action through which the mystery of God is at work in the lives of people is made present.
Through the spirituality that belongs to each Shrine, pilgrims are led with evangelizing pedagogy (Evangelii nuntiandi, 48) to a more responsible level of involvement both in their Christian formation and in the necessary witness of charity that flows from it. Shrines also contribute greatly to the catechetical commitment of the Christian community (Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerants, The Shrine, memory, presence and profession of the living God, 8 May 1999, 10), transmitting in fact with consistency to all times the message that began at the foundation of the Church, enriches the lives of believers and still offers them the reasons for commitment to faith (cf 1 Thess 1:3) which are more mature and aware. Finally, in Sanctuaries, doors are opened wide to the sick, to persons with disabilities and above all to the poor, the marginalized, refugees and immigrants.
In the light of these considerations, it is clear that Shrines are called to play a role in the new evangelization of society today and that the Church is called to pastorally appreciate the movements of the heart that are expressed through pilgrimages to Shrines and places of devotion.
For this reason, wanting to encourage the development of pastoral activities being undertaken in the Church's Shrines, I have decided to transfer to the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization, the responsibility which, in virtue of Article 97, part 1 of the Apostolic Constitution Pastor Bonus, have previously been attributed to the Congregation for the Clergy and also those proposed by Article 151 of the same Constitution regarding voyages for pious reasons, without prejudice, however, to the competences of the legitimate ecclesial Authority and those which, in virtue of special laws, have been attributed to other bodies pertaining to certain Shrines.
As a result, I establish that in the future the following will be the tasks entrusted to the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization:
a. the creation of international Shrines and the approval of respective statues, following the norms of Canons 1232-1233 of the Code of Canon Law;
b. the study of and implementation of measures to promote the evangelizing role of Shrines and the cultivation within them of popular piety;
c. the promotion of an organic pastoral care of Shrines as places of formation in the new evangelization;
d. the promotion of national and international encounters that encourage common efforts at renewing the pastoral work of popular piety and pilgrimage to places of devotion;
e. the promotion of specific formation for staff members of Shrines and places of prayer and devotion;
f. vigilance so that pilgrims are offered, in places to which they travel, coherent and supported spiritual and ecclesial assistance that allows them to maximize the fruitfulness of their experiences;
g. cultural and artistic enhancement for Shrines according to the pulchritudinis (the path of beauty), as a particular mode of the Church's evangelization;
All that I have determined with this Apostolic Letter issued Motu proprio, I order to be observed in all its parts, notwithstanding anything to the contrary even if it be worthy of special mention, and I establish that it will be published in l'Osservatore Romano, entering into effect fifteen days after its publication, and then included in the Acta Apostolicae Sedis.
Given at Vatican City on the 11th day of February 2017
Liturgical memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes, in the fourth year of my Pontificate
Francis
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