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.
