Dublin to host 2018 World Meeting of Families

Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, President of the Pontifical Council for Families, announced Dublin will host the next World Meeting of Families in 2018.

Paglia made the announcement Sunday in Philadelphia, USA, at the end of the concluding Mass for the 8th World Meeting of Families that was presided over by Pope Francis.

The event was held between Sept.2227 at the Benjamin Franklin Parkway.

The next edition of the triannual event, organized by the Catholic church, will be the ninth such meeting inaugurated by Pope John Paul II in October 1994 to coincide with the U.N. declared International Year of the Family.

The first meeting, whose theme was “The Family, The Heart of the Civilization of Love,” was closed by Pope John Paul II in Vatican City’s St. Peter’s square, with a call for faith in the church and the Christian family institution.

The 2nd meeting, held in Rio de Janeiro in 1997 with the theme “Family: Gift and Commitment, Hope for Humanity,” was also closed by Pope John Paul II in the Maracanã Stadium where he emphasized the institution of family could not be replaced by any other.

In 2000, a Jubilee year, the meeting returned to Rome for its third edition under the motto, “Children: Springtime of the Family and Society.”

Three years later in 2003, Christian families from throughout the world gathered in Manila and then in Valencia, Spain, Mexico City, Mexico and Milan, Italy, for subsequent editions.

This year’s meeting, with the theme “Love Is Our Mission: The Family Fully Alive,” included events such as the Festival of Families held Saturday, with performances by Aretha Franklin, Juanes and Andrea Bocelli.

Pope Francis, who attended such an event for the first time, had organized his trip to Cuba and the U.S. to coincide with the meeting.

The Mass in Philadelphia concluded the pope’s visit to the United States, where he arrived on Tuesday after visiting Cuba.

Pope Francis’s historic trip was highlighted by the first address by a pope to a joint meeting of Congress and an address to the U.N. General Assembly.