EUROPE/SPAIN - EXHIBITION ON 20 CENTURIES OF CHRISTIANITY IN SPAIN, “TO KNOW THE PAST AND UNDERSTAND THE PRESENT” AND CELEBRATIONS FOR COMPOSTELA HOLY YEAR 2004 DISCUSSED BY SPANISH BISHOPS’ CONFERENCE

Madrid (Fides Service) - “Christus Splendor: 20 centuries of Christianity in Spain” is the name of an exhibition next year which aims to make known the spiritual heritage and full importance today of the Christian message. The exhibition, probably to be held 12 June to 19 September in Barcelona, will be the result of collaboration of every diocese and cathedral in Spain, 30 monasteries, church archives and libraries, 23.000 parishes, numerous religious congregation and lay associations and hundreds of volunteers
During a plenary assembly, 17 to 21 November the Spanish Bishops’ Conference discussed a proposed programme of initiatives besides the Exhibition Christus Splendor: 20 centuries of Christianity in Spain and the pastoral plan for the celebration of Compostela Holy Year 2004, the 118th in History and the first in the third Christian millennium. Other initiatives for the occasion include: a Meeting of Christian Families, a pilgrimage organised by the Commission of European Bishops’ Conferences (COMECE), an international meeting for permanent deacons. The Youth Pastoral department of the Spanish Bishops’ Conference is also planning a Youth Pilgrimage to Santiago, 3 and 5 August 2004, with the motto: “Witnesses of Christ for a Europe of Hope ”.
The Spanish Bishops also discussed preparations for a Lay Apostolate Congress in Madrid in November 2004, and they approved the final draft of a Family Pastoral Directory which outlines family pastoral understood as an essential dimension of all evangelisation to help families reach full human and Christian maturity. The Bishops call on Spain’s Catholics to promote policies and initiatives to defend and respect the dignity and sacredness of human life. On 18 November the Bishops concelebrated a special Thanksgiving Mass for Pope John Paul II’s 25th year of pontificate in Madrid Cathedral Madrid, attended by 100 bishops, 80 priests and several thousands of people. (RG) (Fides Service 2/12/2003; lines 26; words 345)