Catholics are once again given the opportunity to bond with Christ and one another as they join on Friday the Fourth Philippine Conference on New Evangelization (PCNE 4) at the Quadricentennial Pavilion of the University of Santo Tomas.
With this year’s theme, “Of One Heart and Soul (Acts 4:32)”, the July 28 to 30 event aims to celebrate the Year of the Parish as Communion of Communities as declared by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP). It will be a celebration of unity and harmony, and to share one heart and soul as a community of disciples, as a Church of and with the poor, as agents of communion, participation and mission.
Among the keynote speakers of the Philippine Conference on New Evangelization are Archbishop Salvatore Rino Fisichella, DD, president of the Pontifical Council on Promoting New Evangelization, who will deliver the keynote message on the theme “Being Christian in the age of indifference” during the second day of PCNE 4, July 29, and Archbishop Bernardito Auza, DD, the permanent observer of the Holy See to the UN is set to talk on the topic “The role of the Church among community of nations” on the third day, July 30.
His Eminence Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle, DD, will preside the opening mass on the first day (June 28), and will lead the plenary session about the stories of conversion and communion. The theme for the first day is “Heart Encounters”, and invites the participants to open their hearts to Jesus with the “Heart to Heart” with Cardinal Tagle, which includes guests Lipa City Rep. Vilma Santos-Recto of the Sixth District of Batangas, Dingdong Dantes and Alden Richards.
The second day of the conference will focus on the challenges that the Church, as a community of disciples of Jesus, have to face today, with the talks to center on the theme “Making Room”.
The third day of PCNE 4, aptly themed “Embracing Mission”, tackles the primary tasks of Christians as missionary disciples.
Apart from the plenary sessions, there will be 10 tracks of concurrent sessions on school, catechist, family, youth, new media and evangelization, social justice, new movements, ecology, interreligious/intercultural/ecumenical and parish/BEC. Among the speakers in the concurrent sessions are Cotabato Archbishop Orlando B. Cardinal Quevedo; Caloocan Bishop Most Rev. Pablo Virgilio S. David, DD; Balanga, Bataan Bishop Ruperto C. Santos, DD; and Bro. Bo Sanchez, chairman of the Shepherd’s Voice Radio and TV Foundation.
According to Rev. Fr. Jason Laguerta, director of the Office of the Promotion of New Evangelization, the more than 6,000 delegates registered to join the three-day event are composed of priests, lay people, students, youth, catechists, members of other communities and organizations and participants from other dioceses in the Philippines. This is on top of the more than 500 volunteers, technical team, facilitators and performers that will ensure the event will achieve its purpose.
PCNE was introduced by Cardinal Tagle in 2013 as a local response to the call of new evangelization.
Veritas 846 Radyo Totoo and TV Maria are the official media partners of PCNE 4 and will have live broadcast and special coverage of the event.
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