The painting of Jesuit priest Marko Ivan Rupnik is called: “This is a great mystery,” referring to St. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians (5:32).

Newsdesk (July 28, 2021, 19:53 PM, Gaudium Press). The Holy See’s Dicastery for the Laity, Family, and Life presented on Wednesday the official image of the Tenth World Meeting of Families, which will take place in Rome from the 22nd to the 26th of June 2022.

Created by the Jesuit priest Marko Ivan Rupnik, its title is “This is a great mystery,” making a clear allusion to St. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians (5:32). According to the dicastery, this will be a “pastoral tool to prepare and guide families toward the World Meeting of 2022.

Jesus at the Wedding at Cana

The painting recalls the moment when Jesus turned water into wine at the Wedding of Cana in Galilee. “On the left are the spouses, covered by a veil. The servant who pours the wine has the features of St. Paul, according to ancient Christian iconography. It is he who removes the veil with his hand,” explains Father Rupnik.

The painting also features St. Paul the Apostle due to the letters he wrote about marriage. “The image reveals the sacramental love between man and woman as a reflection of the indissoluble love and unity between Christ and the Church: Jesus sheds His blood for it.”

Next World Meeting of Families

Father Rupnik further explains that in Christian marriage, “the love of the spouses is transformed because it becomes participation of Christ’s love for the Church. In this sense, marriage has an ecclesial dimension and is inseparable from the Church.”

The next World Meeting of Families, which will follow the theme ‘Family Love: A Vocation and a Path to Holiness,’ already has a logo, hashtag (#WMOF2022), prayer, hymn, image, and “unprecedented and multi-centric” form of participation, since each diocese will be able to be the center of a local meeting for its own families and communities. (EPC)

Compiled by Ena Alfaro