Catholic Charities is helping the Diocese of Camden prepare for the Pope’s visit to Philadelphia in September by sponsoring “40 Days of Francis” beginning on August 17.
Bishop Dennis Sullivan will launch the Diocesan-wide campaign during a press conference on Monday, August 17 at the diocesan offices at 631 Market Street in Camden beginning at 10 a.m.
Bishop Sullivan will launch 40 Days of Francis by speaking about the issues of poverty facing families in the Diocese of Camden’s six southern New Jersey counties and urging South Jersey residents to take up Pope Francis’ challenge to hear the “cry of the poor.”
He will also award eight Diocesan families with tickets sponsored by Catholic Charities to attend the World Meeting of Families theological congress in Philadelphia. Applicants submitted an essay and references to be considered for tickets, and families were chosen based on several factors, including economic need and their representation of the Diocese of Camden’s entire geographic area, from Camden to Cape May counties.
Also, 40 Days of Francis will feature a series of open houses at each of Catholic Charities’ centersacross South Jersey where parishioners and residents will get to meet Catholic Charities’ staff, and learn about programs and service opportunities.
Parishioners will be invited to attend their local open house with thousands of “knots” that will be placed in parishes for them to take after Mass. The “knot” is a symbol inspired by Meg Saligman’s “Untying the Knots” art exhibit in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia as well as Pope Francis’ devotion to “Our Lady, Undoer of Knots.” These knots contain a statistic about poverty in the Diocese of Camden and invite parishioners to help “untie” them by getting involved with Catholic Charities.
We invite you to subscribe to Catholic Charities’ 40 Days of Francis e-newsletter, and view a full schedule of events at http://catholiccharitiescamden.org/40days/
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