Fraternity, friendship theme of 2024 Fraternity Campaign
The 2024 Fraternity Campaign has the theme Fraternity and Social Friendship and the motto “You are all brothers and sisters” (Matthew 23:8). The campaign was launched at the National Conference of Brazilian Bishops (CNBB) in Brasília on Ash Wednesday (Feb. 14), the day that marks the beginning of Lent for Christian religions. The period, which lasts 44 days and ends on Holy Thursday, is considered to be one of reflection and seclusion for Christians until Easter, when the resurrection of Jesus Christ is commemorated after his suffering and death.
The Fraternity Campaign is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year. This time, the campaign was inspired by the Encyclical Letter Fratelli Tutti signed in October 2020 in the Italian city of Assisi by Pope Francis.
During the launch ceremony, a video of Pope Francis was shown announcing this year’s campaign. In the message, the pope invites Brazilians to use Lent as an opportunity to recognize God’s will that everyone be brothers and sisters brought together in a universal fraternity.
“I am reminded of the need to widen our circles in order to reach out to those who we don’t spontaneously feel are part of our sphere of interests, to extend our love to every living being, overcoming borders and the barriers of geography and space,” the pope declared.
In Brazil, CNBB Secretary-General Dom Ricardo Hoepers celebrated six decades of uninterrupted evangelizing efforts at national level. “It’s been 60 years of ecclesial experience in search of personal, community, and social conversion, with proposals that unite all the dioceses as well as the entire nation. These have been sixty years of solidarity and projects that have saved and transformed lives; sixty years of courage and coherence in proclaiming the gospel and denouncing injustice.”
According to data from national research institutes, more than half of Brazilians claim to be Catholics who follow the Roman Church.
