Archbishop Rino Fisichella, a senior Vatican official who serves as the pro-prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization and was the lead organizer for the Vatican’s highly successful 2025 Jubilee of Hope, will speak at The Catholic University of America on April 22, 4:30 p.m., in Heritage Hall.
His talk, “Liturgical Prayer Transforms the Church,” is free and open to the public.
This timely talk on the vital place liturgical formation plays in supporting the spiritual lives of Catholics is sponsored by the Welcoming Children in Worship initiative at Catholic University.
“The liturgical formation of the faithful is vital for sustaining and increasing engagement in worship and in the life of the Church.” said Jem Sullivan, who leads the Welcoming Children in Worship initiative. “Through our research and resources we strive to form children and families for meaningful participation in worship and prayer. We are pleased to share Archbishop Fisichella's insights on this critical dimension of the Church's evangelizing mission.”
Sullivan is an associate professor of theology at Catholic University and an appointed member of the Vatican’s International Council for Catechesis. The Welcoming Children in Worship initiative is funded by Lilly Endowment Inc.
Many of the resources, online at welcomingchildren.catholic.edu, are in use across the United States and in several other nations.
About Archbishop Fisichella
Archbishop Salvatore “Rino” Fisichella led the Vatican's highly successful Jubilee Year of Hope in 2025, which drew more than 33 million pilgrims from 185 countries to Rome.
Ordained a priest for the Diocese of Rome in 1976 and an auxiliary bishop in 1988, Fisichella has held several Vatican curial positions. In 2010, Pope Benedict XVI appointed him to the Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization, now called the Dicastery for Evangelization.
He is a specialist in the theology of Hans Urs von Balthasar. He taught fundamental theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University and the Pontifical Lateran University and has served as a chaplain to the Italian Parliament. He also served as rector of the Pontifical Lateran University. Archbishop Fisichella is a member of the Congregations for the Doctrine of the Faith and for the Causes of Saints.
Welcoming Children in Worship
Welcoming Children in Worship is a collaborative research project that designs and offers web-based resources to support the liturgical formation of children and families for their active participation in worship in Catholic dioceses across the United States and in the United Kingdom, China, Singapore, Australia, and Canada. The program also serves teachers and catechists in schools and parishes in the Diocese of Columbus.