Father Jose Eugenio Hoyos, director of Arlington’s Spanish
Apostolate, attended “Called to Holiness for a New
Evangelization,” the third worldwide priests’ retreat, June
9-12 at the Papal Archbasilica of St. John the Lateran in
Rome, where clerics from five continents reflected upon the
Charismatic Renewal and new evangelization. Speakers and
celebrants included Pope Francis, the secretary of the
Vatican State, the president of the Pontifical Council for
the Laity, the president of the Pontifical Council for
Justice and Peace and other Vatican officials.
Father Hoyos said that the most moving part of the conference
was listening to the pope and briefly talking to him
afterwards.
“His talk focused on the spiritual, saying that the
charismatic movement is a current of grace and (a)grand
evangelization tool,” he said. “He told us to treat our
people well, to never fear them, to be tender and calm, that
our homilies should never be boring or too long.”
He said that the pope also discussed the diversity of the
church, adding, “The church has many faces but the one true
face is the face of Christ in suffering.”
After the pope’s talk, five priests had the chance to ask
what Father Hoyos described as “powerful questions” about
suffering, ranging from the needs of the poor to Christian
persecution.
Because he was sitting in the front row, Father Hoyos said he
had the chance to approach the pope for a few minutes. He
asked the pope to pray for Arlington, stressed how meaningful
his trip to the United States will be and asked him to keep
immigrants in his thoughts.
“In his presence, I could feel that he is a very holy man,”
said Father Hoyos. “It was a humbling experience. He is Jesus
on earth. He made me proud to be a priest.”
Father Hoyos received his invitation to the conference three
months ago and, due to the closed nature of the event,
traveled to Rome by himself. He kept the local Hispanic
Catholic community abreast of his activities with Facebook
and Twitter posts during a conference he said was “busy but
very touching.” Due to obligations in Arlington, he was
unable to stay for the full conference.
“I enjoyed it all, but the pope had the most impact,” he
said.
Stoddard can be reached at [email protected].
