Nowadays the Church's mission to proclaim the Gospel must find new ways of expression. In a society where concrete bonds of closeness are increasingly weakened and it is more and more difficult to experience a feeling of belongings to a community, the transmission of the Good News becomes difficult. It is therefore necessary to rethink about the ways, but also the places of welcoming, meeting and proclamation in order to reach and invite all those who still do not know the beauty of the Christian message. As witnessed by the wealth of artistic expressions transmitted by the Church over the centuries, spaces and images are both essential for building the Christian community today as it was yesterday.

MEETING PROGRAM

Sunday, 11st February

2.30 p.m. WALKING THROUGH THE GARDEN OF ART: WALKING AMONG ART, LITURGY AND ARCHITECTURE
An afternoon among exhibitions and moments of reflection on contemporary art, liturgy and architecture. Many opportunities to gather in the cultural space of the exhibition set up like a winter garden.

2.30 p.m.

• The body, between transhumanism and Christian faith - p. Andrea Dall'Asta SJ, director of  Galleria San Fedele, Milan. 
  
• Opening of the exhibition ROUTES OF CHRISTIAN ART on the topic RESURRECTION: THE GLORIOUS BODY
• Coffee break

3.30 p.m.

• Beauty in the liturgy: a fragile anticipation of the fulfilment - Don Paolo Tomatis, director of the Pastoral Liturgy Office - Diocese of Turin
• Opening of the exhibition THE PROCESSIONAL PATH: CHRISTOLOGICAL SIGNS OF THE INTROIT
• Tea break

4.30 p.m.

• The architecture of chapels, encounter spaces with God - Claudia Manenti, Head of Dies Domini - Centro Studi per l'architettura sacra e la città, Fondazione Card. Giacomo Lercaro and Francesco Brasa o.f.m., Father Guardian of La Verna Sanctuary
• Opening of the exhibition THE CHAPEL INTO ST. FRANCIS' WOOD. RESULTS OF A DESIGNERS COMPETITION
• Brindisi

Monday, 12nd February

10.00 a.m. - 4.30 p.m. - Seminar STARTING FROM THE ENCOUNTER: ANNOUNCEMENT PLACES AND COMMUNITY SPACES

Contemporary society is filled by spirals of individualism that lead to a feeling of loneliness and emptiness in a growing dissolution of what is known as sense of belonging to a community. In this scenario, the Christian message is difficult to convey and the gathering moments, which are fundamental for building the Church, tend to be dissolved and virtualised. However, among the multiple Italian ecclesial realities, there are some lively experiences that can provide reflection hints and suggest the right direction to take.This seminar aims to offer an interpretation not only of some particular ways how the Gospel can be proposed today, but also an analysis of new spaces and places designed to welcome the Christian community in the contemporary world. All of this is provided by taking into consideration that verbal message and both sensorial and corporal experiences are aspects that cannot be disconnected from each other.

Tuesday, 13rd February

10.00 a.m. Round table discussion EXPERIENCES OF ENERGY COMMUNITIES in ITALIAN DIOCESES

The energy crisis is another sign that calls us to rediscover ourselves as community that can revise the lifestyles by experiencing the crisis for a renewed conversion of living the Gospel. The ecological game involves territories, networks, relationships and people. Energy communities and integral ecology are both concepts that need to be brought into the daily practice, taking into consideration also our dioceses and parishes.

Energy Communities (CERs) represent an opportunity to nourish relationships and involvement, but also to fight effectively the energy poverty under the light of the Laudato Sì where «the local instance can make a difference. It is right there that a greater responsibility can grow, but also a strong sense of community, a special ability of care and a more generous creativity, a deep love for one's own land»

In a round table discussion, there will be a presentation of some case studies and experiences gained with CERs in some Italian dioceses. In this way we will be able to understand the potentialities and fragilities that have encouraged ecclesiastical structures to concretely get into the action by working alongside third parties, public administrations, private foundations, and associations. The aim was that to realise a project that could connect both the secular world and parishes and generate social, economic and environmental value. For ecclesiastic institutions, CERs are still a way to experiment that the integral ecology proposed by the Church can be transformed into a new human and economic sustainable model, which is attended, and an open and inclusive tool that could concretely support families, associations, local authorities, and businesses by helping to reduce their energy costs with the typical subsidiarity approach.

 

2.30 p.m. - Experiences and workshops

EXHIBITIONS

• Chapel into St. Francis’ Wood. Results of a designers competition
• Routes of Christian art. RESURRECTION: THE GLORIOUS BODY
• THE PROCESSIONAL PATH: CHRISTOLOGICAL SIGNS OF THE INTROIT

CONSULTING POINT