“24 hours for the Lord”

On Friday, March 29, 2019, at 17:00, in St. Peter's Basilica, Pope Francis will preside at a Penitential Celebration opening the traditional 24 Hours for the Lord, an initiative of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization which takes place annually on the Friday and Saturday preceding the Fourth Sunday of Lent.

Now into its sixth edition, the motto for this year’s 24 Hours for the Lord is taken from the Gospel of John: Neither do I condemn you. (Jn 8:11). On this day, which will be marked by Eucharistic Adoration, individual reflection and an invitation to personal conversion, we are invited to contemplate the image of Jesus who, unlike the crowd which gathers to judge and condemn the woman taken in adultery, offers His infinite mercy as an opportunity for grace and new life.

As Pope Francis says in his Apostolic Letter Misericordia et Misera: “The Sacrament of Reconciliation needs to rediscover its central place in the Christian life … a favorable occasion for this could be 24 Hours for the Lord, a celebration held in proximity to the Fourth Sunday of Lent. This initiative, already in place in many dioceses, has great pastoral value in encouraging a more fervent experience of the Sacrament of Confession.”

24 Hours for the Lord invites the whole world to immerse itself in God’s mercy. The Penitential Celebration with Pope Francis in St. Peter’s Basilica will begin this great initiative which, from its beginnings in Rome, is now a feature of Lent in dioceses throughout the world desirous of uniting spiritually with the Holy Father in order to offer all the possibility of a personal experience of God’s mercy.

On the website of the Pontifical Council a booklet for the celebration is available in the following languages: English, Spanish, French, Italian and Polish.

Similarly, Dioceses, Parishes, Religious Communities, Shrines, Movements, Lay Associations and Groups promoting the New Evangelization can an use the dedicated form on the website to report their own initiatives in the context of 24 Hours for the Lord.

For those who wish to participate at the Penitential Celebration in St. Peter's Basilica, presided over by Pope Francis, on Friday, March 29, 2019, at 17:00, it is possible to request free entrance tickets from the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization, by filling out the form on the official website: www.pcpne.va

Concerning requests for tickets, please read the following carefully:

A. Tickets Requests Without Prior Reservation

Those wishing to participate at the Penitential Celebration in St. Peter's Basilica, presided over by Pope Francis, on Friday, March 29, 2019, at 17:00, can obtain the necessary tickets without any previous reservation—on a first come, first served basis, and in accordance with availability—from the distribution point in the atrium of the Palazzo San Pio X (seat of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization), located at nr. 5, Via della Conciliazione (almost directly infront of the Church of Santa Maria in Traspontina), at the following times: Wednesday, March 27, 2019, and Thursday, March 28, 2019, from 08:30 to 13:30 and from 15:00 to 17:30; Friday, March 29, from 08:30 to 13:30.

B. Request and Collection of Reserved Tickets

Those who wish to reserve tickets for the Penitential Celebration over which Pope Francis will preside on Friday, March 29, at 17:00, in St. Peter's Basilica, can request them no later than Wednesday, March 27, by completing the appropriate form on this page.

Tickets thus reserved can be collected from the distribution point in the atrium of the Palazzo San Pio X (seat of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization), located at nr. 5, Via della Conciliazione (almost directly infront of the Church of Santa Maria in Traspontina), at the following times: Wednesday, March 27, 2019, and Thursday, March 28, 2019, from 08:30 to 13:30 and from 15:00 to 17:30; Friday, March 29, from 08:30 to 13:30.

N.B. Tickets are always free of charge.

Click here to request tickets: https://goo.gl/vtH91f