The first 100 days

The Year of Faith has now landed in China. The Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization has put the logo and calendar online in Chinese characters, making them present in the communities and Churches of this vast Asian country. Our newspaper was told about it by Archbishop Rino Fisichella,  President, who  in this interview almost 100 days after the opening of the celebrations sums up its first results and looks with optimism to the future.

 Benedict XVI inaugurated the Year of Faith last 11 October. Can you give us a preliminary overview?

 The first reactions revealed great enthusiasm and deep interest, tangible in the flurry of expressions of it on a small scale: in many pastoral letters – written by bishops to their dioceses –  that in the programme are all dedicated to faith; in the parish projects for  reflection on the various articles of the Creed; and in the widespread dissemination of the official logo of the Year of Faith. The logo shows a boat, a symbol of the Church, in a square bordered field with a boat that is sailing.  The main mast of the boat is a cross on which are hoisted sails composing the trigram of Christ (IHS). The words “Year of Faith” that accompany it, alongside the calendar of “great events”, are translated into the major languages, but also into other languages, even Chinese. The Year of Faith has reached China where it is present in the communities and in the Churches which are likewise living this experience of the universal Church. This was mentioned to the Holy Father during the Roman Curia's Audience  for the exchange of Christmas greetings. And the Pope not only showed his great pleasure but he also told me that Protestant communities had shown interest too. In short, the whole world is in a state of great ferment, and I would say that we have got off on the right foot.

Gianluca Biccini