Hundreds Participate in V Encuentro

More than 600 Catholics gathered on Saturday, November 18th at Bishop Lynch High School to participate in the day-long Diocese of Dallas V Encuentro event. The purpose of the V Encuentro is to respond to Pope Francis’ call, to be a Church which goes forth (EG#24) by encountering those living in the periphery.

Due to retirement, the Catholic Church in the United States is projected to lose over 20,000 lay leaders in the next five years. With the V Encuentro, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops is trying to identify and empower new leaders to replace them. The main objectives are:

• Call all Catholics in the United States to become authentic and joyful missionary disciples that give witness to God’s Love with a prophetic voice in a culturally diverse Church.
• Invite all Catholic leaders to engage and accompany Catholics who find themselves in the peripheries of the Church and society, particularly those who live in at-risk situations and are not actively involved in their faith community.
• Identify and promote opportunities for pastoral leaders to serve at all ministerial levels of the Church and the larger society.
• Stimulate a new wave of faith formation and leadership development initiatives that prepare Catholics to share and celebrate the Good News of Jesus Christ in society.

The Diocese of Dallas V Encuentro day included a number of plenary discussions and presentations and concluded with a celebration and commissioning of diocesan delegates.