cqvip:Fifty-four years ago, the Pact of the Catacombs was signed by a small group of churchmen, determined to make a difference. It was the time of the Second Vatican Council. It was the closing phase of that momentous experience in the Church’s life―a transforming event about which many still talk about, half a century later. A handful of bishops―40 out of an impressive 2,000-plus contingent meeting in St Peter’s Basilica―decided to assemble at the dead of night in the Catacombs of Domitilla, outside Rome. During that eventful night of 16 November 1965, they dreamt of a poor servant church. In that holy place, beneath the earth’s surface, where many generations of early Christians met to pray and to bury their loved ones, those 40 modern-day bishops met in heartfelt prayer to celebrate the Eucharist. They also signed the Pact of the Catacombs as they committed themselves to the ideals of Vatican II. The group of like-minded courageous shepherds was led by Archbishop Helder Camara of Recife, Brazil, the revered champion of the downtrodden poor and marginalized. Those gathered made a common pledge to live according to the daily manner of ordinary people, with regard to housing, food, means of transport, and such routine needs. In the Pact, they renounced the appearance and trappings of wealth, especially the use of gaudy vestments, resembling those of earthly monarchs, and symbols of precious metals, insisting that such signs should rather be according to the spirit of the Gospel. They promised to divest themselves of earthly riches and properties, and if they had to possess anything they placed it in the name of the diocese or some charitable foundation. In the humble consoling light of flickering candles, the group renounced all those aspects which appeared to be associated with privilege, prominence, and the wealthy echelons of society. In line with this, they expressed their desire not to be addressed verbally or in writing with titles expressing power, but rather with the more scriptural and homely title of “Father”. Their evangelical intention was focused on avoiding any sort of vanity. The signatories that night at the Domitilla Catacombs affirmed that “we will give whatever is needed in terms of our time, our reflection, our heart, our means, etc., to the apostolic and pastoral service of workers and labour groups and to those who are economically weak and disadvantaged, without allowing that to detract from the welfare of other persons or groups of the diocese. We will support lay people, religious, deacons and priests whom the Lord calls to evangelize the poor and the workers, by sharing their lives and their labours”. This paper shows how the Pact of the Catacombs was to be an early harbinger of Pope Francis’ vision of the church.
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