PARIS—Roman Catholics from across Europe launched an “urban mission” drive in Paris on Sunday, part of a five-year campaign to rekindle interest in a Church often sidelined and satirized on the continent it once dominated.
Taking their cue from Pope John Paul II, thousands of believers plan to spread the message of Jesus Christ in Paris cafes, parks and street corners during the “new evangelization” effort set to culminate on All Saints’ Day on November 1.
The “urban mission” program, a telling reversal for traditionally Catholic societies that once sent legions of preachers overseas, began last year in Vienna and will continue over the next three years in Lisbon, Brussels and Budapest.
Like the World Youth Days the Pope has turned into huge Catholic rallies, it aims to reach out to Europeans who no longer fill the great cathedrals and parish churches that grace their cities.
“Christians practice their faith in different ways,” said Monsignor Patrick Chauvet, vicar general of the Paris archdiocese. “They go to Church less often but young people like big gatherings, you see them with Pope John Paul.”
A leading French sociologist sees the event as a sign that the Catholic Church, whose numbers and influence have collapsed in recent decades, is reinventing itself as a counter-culture.
“When Catholicism was dominant, it didn’t have to assert itself,” Marcel Gauchet told the Catholic weekly La Vie. “Catholics are changing. This dynamic attitude is part of their reconstruction.”
Noting the success that evangelical Protestant churches were having in the United States, he said: “No religion can exist any more without some way of displaying its identity.”
Theater, Gospel and Christian rock
Finding new ways to spread the Gospel has been a hallmark of John Paul’s 26-year-old papacy. He called for a “new evangelization” of Europe as early as 1979, during his first trip as Pope to his native Poland, and has traveled around the globe to preach.
Cardinals from the five mission cities—Jean-Marie Lustiger of Paris, Christoph Schoenborn of Vienna, Godfried Danneels of Brussels, Jose de Cruz Policarpo of Lisbon and Peter Erdo of Budapest—developed the “city mission” idea in response.
Participants gathering around Notre Dame Cathedral in central Paris stressed the inspiration they found in such large gatherings.
It strengthens us to see we’re not alone,” explained Christian Donet, a vineyard worker from France’s Burgundy region.
“When I spread the Gospel, I strengthen my faith,” said Birgit Knott, a Vienna teacher who came from Austria with six pupils.
In their greeting packs, participants find a paperback New Testament to give to a stranger during the week.
About 2,000 Catholic families in Paris are housing participants from around France and Europe for the event, which will include 158 different discussions about religious and social issues.
Among prominent French participants are former International Monetary Fund managing director Michel Camdessus and Francis Mer, who will discuss “Christians and Money” at a Church near the Finance Ministry he ran from 2002 to 2004.