Pope Francis declared 2024 the ‘Year of Prayer’ in preparation for next year’s Ordinary Jubilee. In line with this, the Holy Father has decided to set up a ‘School of Prayer.’
In a press conference on January 23, Archbishop Rino Fisichella, Pro-Prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization, said the school will have a series of moments of encounter with specific groups of people to pray together and better understand various prayer forms.
He said it will range “from thanksgiving to intercession; from contemplative prayer to the prayer of consolation; from adoration to supplication.”
The Vatican official clarified that the school will not be about learning new prayers but about finding a way to “live with greater awareness of the need for daily prayer.”
The Year of Prayer in 2024, according to the pope, is dedicated “to rediscovering the great value and absolute need for prayer, prayer in personal life, in the life of the Church, prayer in the world.”
“I am certain that bishops, priests, deacons, and catechists will find in this year appropriate ways to place prayer at the heart of the proclamation of hope that the 2025 Jubilee will make resound in this troubled time,” said Pope Francis.
Archbishop Fisichella explained that this Year is not marked by particular initiatives.
“Rather, it is a privileged time in which to rediscover the value of prayer and the need for daily prayer in our Christian life,” he said.
“[It is] a time to discover how to pray and, above all, how to educate the people of today in prayer, in this age of digital culture, so that prayer can be effective and fruitful,” he also said.
The archbishop also stressed that the Year of Prayer will not hinder the initiatives of local churches because it will focus less on holding events and more on ideas and suggestions.
To aid the faithful in their spiritual meditations this Year of Prayer, the dicastery is set to release a series of materials that can constitute a “symphony” of the most common forms of Christian prayer.
Monsignor Graham Bell, Undersecretary of the Dicastery and head of the Section in charge of coordinating the Year of Prayer, revealed the projects underway for the Year of Prayer.
“The Vatican Publishing House (LEV) is publishing, starting today [January 23], a series of small texts that delve into the various dimensions of the Christian act of praying,” he said.
This eight-volume series will be sent out to bishops’ conferences around the world. The Dicastery for Evangelization, Section for Fundamental Questions Regarding Evangelization in the World, has also enlisted internationally acclaimed authors for the series.
In addition, Archbishop Fisichella also recommended checking out the 38-session series of catechetical talks by Pope Francis from May 6, 2020, to June 16, 2021, about the various forms of prayer.
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