What is CCR?
Catholic Charismatic Renewal (CCR) is an ecclesial movement of spiritual renewal and transformation in the Catholic Church that emphasises the need for each one to make a personal commitment to Christ as Lord and Saviour and to be empowered by the Holy Spirit for the glory of God the Father.
Who is the Founder of CCR?
CCR is not a “movement” in the usual sociological sense: it has neither a founder nor founding group, it includes a wide range of manifestations of the fruits and gifts of the Holy Spirit. It Is Simply A Current of Grace For The Whole Church.
The Renewal is a flow of grace, a renewing breath of the Holy Spirit, intended for all the members of the church: Lay people, religious, Priests and Bishops. This current of grace allows individuals, groups, communities, activities and ministries to express themselves in different ways with different forms of organization.
What are the Objectives of the CCR?
The main objectives of CHARIS are:
- To help deepen and promote the grace of Baptism in the Holy Spirit everywhere in the Church. CHARIS aims to "share Baptism in the Holy Spirit with everyone in the Church" (FRANCIS, Address to participants in the international conference of leaders of Catholic Charismatic Renewal (Catholic Charismatic Renewal International Service- CHARIS), June 8th, 2019.
- To promote the ecumenical dimension of Catholic Charismatic Renewal and encourage commitment in serving the unity of all Christians. CHARIS aims "to serve the unity of the body of Christ, the Church, the community of believers in Jesus Christ" (FRANCIS, Address, June 8th, 20 19)
- To promote service to the poor and social action through Catholic Charismatic Renewal. CHARIS aims "to serve the poor and those in greatest need, physical and spiritual. These three things- baptism in the Holy Spirit, unity in the body of Christ and service to the poor - are the forms of witness that, by virtue of baptism, all of us are called to give for the evangelisation of the world'' (FRANCIS, Address, June 9th 2019).
The general objectives of CHARIS
CHARIS has other general objectives over and above the 3 main objectives. (CHARIS Statutes general objectives)
The origins of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal
The Catholic Charismatic Renewal (CCR) began at a retreat for college students at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (USA) in February 1967. The students had spent much of the weekend in prayer, asking God to allow them to experience the grace of both baptism and confirmation. The students, that weekend, had a powerful and transforming experience of God, which came to be known as ‘baptism in the Spirit’. The account of the weekend and the experience of the Spirit quickly spread across the college campus, then to other campuses throughout the country.
The charismatic experience soon moved beyond colleges and began to have an impact on regular parishes and other Catholic institutions. Loose organisations and networks were formed. Catholic charismatic conferences began to be held, drawing over 30,000 at Notre Dame campus in South Bend Indiana (USA) in the mid 1970’s. The Renewal caught the attention of the Church, and the leaders of the movement met Pope Paul VI (1975) as well as Pope John Paul II several times. In addition, several of the bishops’ conferences, of various countries, have written pastoral letters of encouragement and support for the movement.
The Catholic Charismatic Renewal is not a single, unified worldwide movement. It does not have a single founder or group of founders as many other movements do. It has no membership lists. It is a highly diverse collection of individuals, groups and activities—covenant communities, prayer groups, schools, small faith sharing groups, renewed parishes, conferences, retreats, and even involvement in various apostolates and ministries—, often quite independent of one another, in different stages and modes of development and with different emphases, that nevertheless share the same fundamental experience and espouse the same general goals.
The common thread for the Movement is the ‘baptism of the Holy Spirit’. For many people, this new, powerful, and life-transforming outpouring of the Holy Spirit takes place in the context of a specifically designed seminar called ‘Life in the Spirit’, although many have been ‘baptised in the Spirit’ outside of the seminar.
The Catholic Charismatic Renewal is currently present in more than 200 countries and has touched the lives of over 120,000,000 Catholics. In some countries the number of participants seems to have diminished in recent years, while in other places the numbers continue to rise at an amazing rate.
Source is the International Charismatic Renewal website. www.iccrs.org/
