U.S. Bishops Will Gather for Seven Days of Prayer and Reflection at Invitation of Pope Francis

October 23, 2018 

WASHINGTON— At the invitation of Pope Francis, the Bishops of the United States will gather for a spiritual retreat set to take place at Mundelein Seminary in the Archdiocese of Chicago.  The bishops will gather in prayer and unity for seven days, from January 2-8, as brothers in the Episcopacy.

“The Holy Father has kindly offered the preacher to the Papal Household, Reverend Raniero Cantalamessa, O.F.M. Cap., to serve as the retreat director as we come together to pray on the intense matters before us.  For this, I am grateful,” said Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo, Archbishop of Galveston-Houston and President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.  “I am also grateful to Cardinal Blase Cupich for his kind offer to use the campus of Mundelein Seminary as the location for this retreat.”

The announcement comes after Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo met with the Pope earlier this month as part of a regularly scheduled Curia visit. The retreat takes place as the U.S. bishops continue their work to address the current U.S. clergy sex abuse crisis.  In September, the U.S. bishops Administrative Committee http://www.usccb.org/news/2018/18-152.cfm announced an action plan including a third-party reporting mechanism, standards of conduct for bishops, and protocols for bishops resigned or removed because of abuse.

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Keywords: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, USCCB, Pope Francis, Reverend Raniero Cantalamessa, O.F.M. Cap, Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo, Cardinal Blase Cupich, Mundelein Seminary, Archdiocese of Chicago, episcopacy, retreat, prayer, Office of Meetings and Events, USCCB General Secretariat

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