"You, Charismatic Renewal, have received a great gift
from the Lord. You were born of the will of the Spirit as a current of grace in the church and for the church.”
~Pope Francis
Pope PAUL VI-May 19, 1975
"Nothing is more necessary for such a world, more and more secularised, than the testimony of this 'spiritual renewal" Its which we see the Holy Spirit bring about today in the most diverse regions and environments. Its manifestations are varied: deep communion of souls, close contact with God in faithfulness to the commitments undertaken at Baptism, in prayer that is often community prayer, in which each one, expressing himself freely, helps, supports and nourishes the prayer of others, and, at the basis of ever filling, a personal conviction. This conviction has its source not only in instruction received by faith but also in a certain experience of real life, namely, that without God, man can do nothing, that with him, on the contrary, everything becomes possible. [...] How then could this spiritual renewal'not be a change' for the church and for the world? And how, in this case, could one not take all the means to ensure that it remains so? The address of Pope Paul Vl to participant in the Second International Leaders' Conference of Charismatic Renewal in Rome, 19 May 1975
Pope St.John Paul II April 4, 1998
“The Catholic Charismatic Renewal has helped many Christians to rediscover the presence and power of the Holy Spirit …and this rediscovery has awakened in them a faith in Christ filled with joy.”
Pope John Paul II, Address to Charismatic Renewal Leaders, 1998
The Catholic charismatic movement is one of the many fruit of the Second Vatican Council, which, like a new Pentecost, led to an extraordinary flourishing in the Church's life of groups and movements particularly sensitive to the action of the Spirit. How can we not give thanks for the precious spiritual fruits that the Renewal has produced in the life of the Church and in the lives of so many people? How many lay faithful - men. women, young people, adults and the elderly - have been able to experience in their own lives the amazing power of the Spirit and his gifts! How many people have rediscovered the faith, the joy of Prayer, the power and beauty of the Word of God, translating all this into generous service in the Church's mission! How many lives have been profoundly changed! For all this today, together with you, I wish to praise and thank the Holy Spirit."
Address of the Holy Father Pope John Paul ll to leaders of Renewal in the Spirit in Italy, Rome.
Pope Benedict XVI October 31, 2008
"As I have been able to affirm in other circumstances, the Ecclesial Movements and New Communities which blossomed after the Second Vatican Council constitute a unique gift of the Lord and a precious resource for the life of the Church. They should be accepted with trust and valued for various contributions they place at the service of the common benefit in an ordered and fruitful way. Your current reflection on the centrality of Christ in preaching is very interesting as well as on the importance of “Charisms in the life of the particular Church” referring to Pauline theology, the New Testament and the experience of the Charismatic Renewal. What we learn in the New Testament on charism, which appeared as visible signs of the coming of the Holy Spirit, is not a historical event of the past, but a reality ever alive. It is the same divine Spirit, soul of the Church, that acts in every age and those mysterious and effective interventions of the Spirit are manifest in our time in a providential way. The Movements and New Communities are like an outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the Church and in contemporary society. We can, therefore, rightly say that one of the positive elements and aspects of the Community of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal is precisely their emphasis on the charisms or gifts of the Holy Spirit and their merit lies in having recalled their topicality in the Church."
Pope Francis June 1, 2014
"You, the charismatic Renewal, have received a great gift from the Lord. Your movement's birth was willed by the Holy Spirit to be 'a current of grace in the Church and for the Church'. This is your identity: to be a current of grace. [...] You have received the great gift of diversity of charisms, the diversity which becomes harmony in the Holy Spirit, in service to the Church. […]. The Charismatic Renewal is a great force meant to serve the preaching of the Gospel in the joy of the Holy Spirit. […] You, the people of God, the people of the Charismatic Renewal, must be careful not to lose the freedom which the Holy Spirit has given you! [.,.] I expect you to share with everyone in the Church the grace of baptism in the Holy Spirit (a phrase we find in the Acts of the Apostles)."
Address of the Holy Father Pope Francis, Charismatic Renewal at 37th Convocation at Roman Olympic Stadium, Rome, Italy June 1, 2014
(International Catholic Charismatic Renewal Services)