Vatican City, May 30, 2004 / 22:00 pm
On Saturday evening, during the Vespers of Pentecost, Pope John Paul II reaffirmed that the new movements and lay communities are a blessing to the Church.
The Pope presided at the celebration of the first Vespers of the Solemnity of Pentecost before some 40,000 faithful from parishes, associations and ecclesial groups, especially members of the Movement for Renewal in the Spirit, at the special invitation of the Holy Father.
The Pontiff also greeted numerous young people who were participating in a prayer vigil at Lednica, Poland, and were connected to St, Peter’s Square through a radio and television link: “I pray with you, my dear friends, for the gift of the Holy Spirit. May the Consoler, the Holy Spirit, fill you with the love of Christ, to Whom you entrust your future.”
Addressing the members of Renewal in the Spirit, “one of the various expressions of the great family of the Catholic charismatic movement,” he said: “Thanks to the charismatic movement many Christians – men and women, children and adults – have rediscovered Pentecost as a living reality in their daily lives.”