Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Santiago (Agenzia Fides) – Over 14,000 people participated in the 6th Walk for the Family and Life held on Saturday, October 11, in honor of the Week for Life and the Family being celebrated by the Church in Chile (see Fides 3/10/2008). With banners expressing hope, with songs, and with joy, participants showed the importance that being a family and valuing life has for them.
The festivity began at 3pm, in Cerro Primo de Rivera, where the Bishops’ Vicar for the Family, Fr. Marcos Burzawa, MSF, celebrated a Mass in preparation for the Walk, reminding those present that “participating in this walk implies are quest for the meaning of life, what moves our hearts. It means opening our hearts to the Holy Spirit.” The kilometer-and-a-half walk was led by religious dance groups and by priests from schools and parishes who assisted those who encouraged the faithful. Various stops were made along the way during the Walk, to listen to the reading of a message. The youth (as there were many present) were told that they should “make the effort to form a strong, enriched, and coherent character, to be free and responsible, find the importance of true values and a solid character. Young people, the most important value that you should always fight for and dedicate your time to, is forming a Christian family, nurturing it and protecting it.” The destination for the Walk was the National Shrine of Maipu, where there was a Mass celebrated by the Archbishop of Santiago, Cardinal Francisco Javier Errázuriz, who explained that “this Walk showed the joy of forming families open to life.”
In his homily, the Archbishop mentioned that the faithful should not let themselves be led astray by those things that place family stability in danger, and to help those families experiencing difficulties, and to be a testimony of what a family should be. He congratulated the participants in the Walk, and encouraged them, reminding them of the commitment they have towards the family.
The Cardinal later affirmed that “our families have life, they have life in Jesus Christ,” and he expressed his regret for the great number of families thaat still fo not know the light and love that Christ offers, which leads them to fall into mistrust and despair. Lastly, he encouraged those present to “continue sending out this message that they gave all the families in the city today. In our Archdiocese, there are many families that base their life on Christ, who raise their children in the faith, and who do so in spite of difficulties, which is a valuable leaven not only in our Archdiocese, but for all Chile, and for this I encourage you to follow on this path and I keep this intention in my prayers.”
According to the organizers, the Walk was “a festival of the family, where the principles and values that sustain the family were manifest.” (RG) (Agenzia Fides 15/10/2008)
