Travelling with a puppet theatre, a group of young people tell Bible stories in San Juan City. Conceived as part of the Year of Faith, the show will be performed at least twice a month. Meanwhile, Card Tagle calls the First Philippine Conference on the New Evangelisation an "overwhelming experience" of faith.

Manila (AsiaNews/CBCP) - A group of young Filipinos involved in street theatre has organised a series of shows focusing on the catechism and the Word of God as a way to bear witness directly among the people. The grass-roots initiative is a response to Pope Benedict XVI's call for a New Evangelisation and was made possible by the active involvement of the Catholic Church of the Philippines. in the meantime, the First Philippine Conference on the New Evangelisation (PCNE) ended last week. Held in Asia's only predominantly Catholic nation, the meeting provided an opportunity for prayer and reflection. In the words of Archbishop of Manila, Card Luis Antonio Tagle, it was an "overwhelming experience."

Today, in one of the main streets of San Juan City, a town in the National Capital Region, which includes Metro Manila, the Kadang Dominiko Puppet Theatre from the Santuario del Sto Cristo kicked off its road show.

Marlon Antolin, one of its organisers, said that the show is designed to bring the catechism to the streets, one of many projects that celebrate the Year of Faith. Adopting a light approach, it retells some of better-known Bible stories with an educational aim in mind.

"For their first show, the kids will perform a short play titled 'Ang Kuwento ni Jose at and Kanyang Dalawang Anak' inspired by the parable of the Prodigal Son," Antolin said. Singing by parish youth will accompany the performance. Afterwards, the group will move to other parts of the city, staging at least two performances a month.

This event is but one of the many initiatives Catholic laity and clergy have launched in order to revive their missionary commitment in the context of the New Evangelisation. Another one is the first Philippine Conference on the New Evangelisation (PCNE) that just ended in the capital Manila, which attracted about 6,000 people.

In celebrating the event's final Mass, Card Tagle urged the faithful to respond to the Church's call in a spirit of humility, and thus, with trust in God, become witnesses to the Gospel.

• philippines
• roadshow
• street
• puppet
• theatre
• catholic
• church
• new
• evangelisation