Technical Committee

RECEPTION PROJECT, SOLIDARITY OBJECTIVE

Donato R. Mosella

The reception of pilgrims is the focus of attention of the Central Committee for the Jubilee of the Year 2000, which is moving ahead rapidly in the definition of a true and proper "Reception Project". The guidelines of the project were established by the Technical Committee for the Jubilee, an operative structure of the Central Committee which has the task of planning and co-ordinating all the initiatives linked to the reception of pilgrims.

The action of the Technical Committee, established in 1995, is developed through working groups dedicated to specific themes (health assistance, security, co-ordination of volunteer bodies, large events, spiritual reception), and will soon be backed by an Operative Centre, set up using the services of Telecom Italia. The Centre, which will allow a network connection with the National Committees for the Jubilee established in the various countries, is currently undergoing its first planning stage: it will be developed during 1998 and tested before the year 2000. The entire "Reception project" was inspired by the call in Tertio Millennio Adveniente (91) that the Jubilee of the Year 2000 be held in a climate of "solidarity in the reception of others, especially the most needy".

The project is based on four fundamental concepts, which constitute its cardinal points: the respect of the spiritual dimension of the event, for a Jubilee that is not planned and managed as a tourist market event; the co-ordination and collaboration between structures and bodies of the Holy See, Italian national and territorial institutions and other forces available; the use of all possible technology; the dimension of hospitality, also to establish a deep contact between the community which receives and the one that is received. Carrying out an optimal reception also requires the use of an appropriate strategy of communication, both to prepare the city of Rome, and to ensure a global information to circulate among the various National Committees and the Central Committee. This will be the task of the Mass Media Committee of the Jubilee, through an agency-bulletin in four languages, already in the publishing phase, and through radio and television communication which will make use of the satellite to reach every corner of the world.

Particular care has been taken in the planning of a reception system and the spiritual animation of pilgrims, which envisages among other things the training and use of specific pastoral animators. In addition, considering that a section of the some 20 million pilgrims expected will arrive in Rome following itineraries of particular religious value, the possible pilgrimage paths are presently being defined, planning the basic criteria required to adapt and equip the areas interested in terms of infrastructures and services. The PAPS (Peregrinatio Ad Petri Sedem), the Holy See body established in 1993 to co-ordinate and assist pilgrims who arrive in Italy and Rome, will deal with the logistic placing of the travellers and certain aspects of their mobility.

To resolve some of the more delicate problems linked to the assistance of pilgrims - information, orientation, support for the weaker categories, safeguard of the environment… - international volunteers will be used. Therefore a true and proper volunteer project has been approved, which envisages the establishment of the "International Voluntary Centre for Reception", which will have training, information and co-ordination tasks in this field. The use of volunteers will be particularly precious on occasion of the large ceremonies scheduled on the Jubilee calendar. To hold this sort of event, an ad hoc area will be identified and equipped to host over 300,000 people, planning at the same time a flexible model of management for the large ceremonies which can be adapted each time to the different requirements.

The use of voluntary structures and the mobilisation of Catholic health are the two strong points of the health programme prepared by the Technical Committee, which will run parallel to the General health plan of the city of Rome and Latium. To complete the services offered, pilgrims will have two precious instruments available to them: the "bag" and the "map" of the pilgrim. The "bag" will contain useful material, including the "guides for the pilgrim", the "map" will grant certain benefits. The "bag" and "map" are planned in order to simplify some of the operations pilgrims will be involved in, for example allowing them to immediately recognise the linguistic group they belong to.

Carrying out a Jubilee which will not exclude "the most needy", as indicated by the Holy Father, is not an easy task. In order to support the Jubilee of the most needy a Solidarity Fund has been established. Fed by the use of the Jubilee logo, the Fund will be able to release financial means to the National Committees of the various countries, for the most needy pilgrims and to support social programmes.