On November 4, Pope Francis received participants in a conference organized by the Catholic Charismatic Renewal International Service (CHARIS) and offered strong encouragement for Life in the Spirit seminars (here described by the Catholic Charismatic Renewal of the Archdiocese of Miami).
The Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life established CHARIS in 2018 to “accompany and guide all charismatic communities” toward “ecclesial maturity,” the Pope said during the audience, which took place in Paul VI Audience Hall.
“One goal that you are proposing, and which I myself have encouraged, is to expand the ‘Life in the Spirit Seminars’ in all places and for everyone,” the Pope continued. “Today I would ask you: are the Life in the Spirit Seminars being offered in a variety of ecclesial contexts, in small and more remote places, and among the poor and on the peripheries? Each of you can answer this in your hearts.”
The Pontiff then emphasized that the task of CHARIS is “promoting, not controlling, charisms” and that “the path to holiness always involves growth in personal conversion and in the generous gift of oneself, a gift to Christ and to others, not merely in a sense of spiritual consolation.”