Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Rome (Agenzia Fides) – Sunday, March 7th, Spanish Dioceses celebrate Hispano-American Day, promoted by the Ibero-American Association for Priestly Cooperation (OCSHA), of the Spanish Bishops' Conference. Coinciding with the Year for Priests, the motto this year is “Priests: disciples and missionaries.” The aim of this celebration is to remember the centuries-old Spanish missionary involvement of the Spanish Episopate in pastoral support for the Latin American Church.
On the occasion of the anniversary, the Pontifical Commission for Latin America has spread a message, signed by the President, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re and the Vice President, Archbishop Octavio Ruiz Arenas, which shows the significance of the day in the light of the Year for Priests.
At first, the message focuses on the motto of the Day in 2010: "Priests disciples and missionaries," which echoes the pastoral and missionary accent expressed by the Conference of Latin American Bishops in light of Aparecida and takes into account the special Year for Priests declared by Pope Benedict XVI. The Year for Priests, the text says, is deeply tied to the figure of St. John Mary Vianney, the Holy Curé of Ars, on the 150th anniversary of his return to the Father's House. In his life, "he reflected the unshakable faith of a true disciple of Christ and a missionary spirit forged in prayer."
"In celebrating the Hispano-American Day, our gaze returns to Latin America as a land of mission." The evangelical spirit is what moves priests to leave their land to give their lives to the "Continent of Hope," in a continuity of more than 5 centuries of missionary presence in Spain. "Today we renew that challenging call so that, as true disciples of Christ, many may respond courageously to the vocation to proclaim the Gospel to the ends of the earth, and a greater number of priests and missionaries may be willing to dedicate their lives with generosity to the great work of evangelization." The message ends with the words of the Pope in the Second Vespers of the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus: "The Church needs holy priests." (CE) (Agenzia Fides 03/03/2010)
