Marking the 7th anniversary of the World Meeting of Families 2018 in Dublin, Bishop Denis Nulty, called together representatives from marriage movements for a Picnic Day at the Focolare Centre, in Prosperous on 24th August 2025.
In warm sunshine families from Couples for Christ, Marriage Encounter, Focolare- New Families, Domestic Church, Communion and Liberation, Teams of Our Lady, Pure in Heart and Accord met together to share a picnic, stories, games, music and prayers for peace in Gaza.
Bishop Nulty, who is Chairman of the Council for the Family of the Irish Bishops’ Conference, reminded the participants of a similar gathering at the Focolare Centre in July 2019 following the World Meeting of Families, when 25 apple trees were planted in the grounds of the Focolare Centre representing the marriage movements accompanying couples and families, and he invited those present to visit the orchard that was planted then.
Drawing inspiration from the Gospel of the day: ‘Strive to enter by the narrow door’, Bishop Nulty asked ‘What is a Christian? What is a family? – Someone who enters by the narrow door. Someone who takes time to allow others to go through, someone who holds the hands of others to lead them through, someone who squeezes in, someone who kicks off their shoes, comes in the back door and knows they’re at home, they’re in with a family.’
Quoting Pope Francis Bishop Nulty told the 150 plus participants that no family dropped down from heaven perfectly formed. Every family has a loose handle on a saucepan or a squeaky door, every family has its struggles and upsets, its joys and graces.
‘At the jubilee of families Pope Leo reminded us that it is in the family that faith is handed on from generation to generation, shared like food at the family table, like love in our hearts and this is exactly what we are doing on this picnic day, sharing food around the table with one another.’
The picnic afternoon ran from 2pm to 5pm with music, dance, a spot prize raffle, free ice-creams, and a moment of complete stillness when participants joined the worldwide chain of prayer for peace in Gaza and the return of the hostages.