The 2021 edition of the annual Biblical Festival organized and promoted by the Society of St. Paul and the Diocese of Vicenza centered on the theme You Are All Siblings, based on the Gospel of Matthew. In a statement publicizing the event, its organizers said that “it is especially significant and necessary today to emphasize the theme of universal fraternity in the light of the latest papal encyclical, Fratelli Tutti: on fraternity and social friendship. Pope Francis says that in addressing this subject, he drew inspiration from St. Francis of Assisi.”
The Festival, which was broadcast live on its Facebook and YouTube channels and on its www.festivalbiblico.it web site, opened with an online event on 24 January, the Sunday dedicated to the Word of God.
The agenda of the Biblical Festival will continue throughout the year by means of mixed programming in which digital events and formats will alternate with live ones.
“In an age marked more and more by a pluralism without boundaries,” the statement continues, “differences and singularities are multiplying to the point that the awareness of belonging to a single human family risks falling into oblivion. Precisely because of this, reawakening a sense of universal fraternity is vitally important for improving the quality of life of people today.”