‘The religious challenges of today – The Benedictine answer’. This is the theme of the second World Congress of Oblates will take place in Rome from the 2nd to 10th October, 2009. The congress will be held at the Salesianum (www.salesianum.it) which is about 20 kms from Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci airport at Fiumicino.

The Congress will have five main elements. The primary emphasis will be on the celebration of the liturgy and prayer, an emphasis which was much appreciated at the first Congress. In order to intensify the encounter with the Word of God, two prayer-vigils are being planned, one ecumenical and another of an inter-religious character.

To help us articulate and address the pressing religious challenges of today, three conferences will provide material for reflection, approaching the subject from the points of view of contemplation, communion and mission. An important contribution will also be made by the testimony of three lay oblates.

Given the theme of the Congress, a central role will be played by the panel-discussion to which participants from the Catholic, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, and Buddhist traditions will be invited. An expert on the current kaleidoscope of ‘emerging religions’ will also be invited.

Discussion-groups, organized according to language, will give the opportunity to respond to and deepen the impulses and suggestions arising from these interventions.

We have asked and are earnestly hoping for an audience with Pope Benedict XVI.

The Congress would not be complete without a visit the Abbey of Montecassino, cradle of Benedictine monasticism and it is foreseen that all will join in this. In contrast, a visit to the monastery of Subiaco with the Sacro Speco will be voluntary and confined to those who reserve a place at the beginning of the Congress. This visit will be billed separately from the rest of the Congress, the cost being determined by the number of participants registering.

Much consideration has been given to the matter of free time, in order to provide opportunities to visit the Eternal City. It is our hope that all will join in the visit to the Primatial Abbey of Sant’Anselmo where we will celebrate Vespers and have the chance to listen to a flute-recital given by the Abbot Primate, Dom Notker Wolf, OSB.

To emphasize and create a continuity with the first Congress there will be a screening of the film, The First World Congress of Benedictine Oblates’, which was commissioned by the National Coordinating Council of Italian Benedictine Oblates. This will give an opportunity to experience the most important events of the first Congress.

Organizing Committee