PHILADELPHIA—For Michael Martocchio, his family is definitely a source of light in the world.
As he and his wife Kristen listened to the keynote speaker on that very topic, they kept an eye on their two young daughters, who were playing quietly with other children at the back of the hall. It was words in action as the speaker talked about how parishes must make an effort to be family friendly.
Michael said the World Meeting of Families is a vivid lesson on the time and effort that goes into maintaining a cohesive unit, and how important it is to show appreciation for those families.
“It’s been great so far,” he said. “There’s a lot of people here who are energetic and excited.”
As the Martocchio family wandered around the exhibit hall during lunch, Michael said he was amazed at all the resources available for families that that he never knew about. Just one among thousands was a cube that is rolled like dice, he said, and lands on a social outreach task for the day. The family then takes on that task and talks about it at the end of the day.
“There are all kinds of creative things like that to engage your family and your children,” Michael said.
Aside from the talks and exhibits, he said one of the most powerful moments came during Mass on the first day, when all the religious entered the church. “It looked like a never-ending line of cardinals coming in,” he said.
