{"id":2088,"date":"2014-10-27T16:01:29","date_gmt":"2014-10-27T16:01:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.spainexchange.com\/?p=2088"},"modified":"2026-10-09T13:35:31","modified_gmt":"2026-10-09T13:35:31","slug":"the-fifth-world-meeting-of-the-families-in-valencia-spain-a-pilgrims-perspective","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.spainexchange.com\/articles\/the-fifth-world-meeting-of-the-families-in-valencia-spain-a-pilgrims-perspective\/","title":{"rendered":"The Fifth World Meeting of Families in Valencia, Spain"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Fifth World Meeting of Families was held in Valencia in July 2006 and closed with a two-day visit by Pope Benedict XVI. This post explains what the World Meeting of Families is, what happened in Valencia, and which of the places linked to the event can be visited in the city today, with opening times and prices for 2026.<\/p>\n

What the World Meeting of Families is<\/h2>\n

The World Meeting of Families is an international gathering of the Catholic Church. According to the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life<\/a>, the Vatican office that organises it, the first meeting took place in Rome on 8 and 9 October 1994, at the end of a Year of the Family called by Pope John Paul II. Since then a meeting has been held about every three years in a different city. Each one begins with an international theological and pastoral congress and ends, with the Pope present, with a celebration of families and a closing Mass.<\/p>\n

Valencia hosted the fifth meeting. Its theme was “Handing on the Faith in the Family”. The sixth followed in Mexico City in January 2009, and the most recent on the Dicastery’s list, the tenth, took place in Rome from 22 to 26 June 2022, in a mixed in-person and online format with events in dioceses around the world.<\/p>\n

What happened in Valencia in 2006<\/h2>\n

The Vatican’s programme of the journey<\/a> gives the timetable. Benedict XVI landed at Manises airport at 11.30 on Saturday 8 July 2006. He went first to Valencia Cathedral and to the Basilica of the Virgen de los Desamparados, the patron of the city, and prayed the Angelus in the Plaza de la Virgen. In his words that day he said he had stopped in the cathedral before the relic of the Holy Chalice. In the basilica he prayed with the families of the victims of a metro accident that had struck the city shortly before the meeting.<\/p>\n

The two closing events took place in the City of Arts and Sciences. The festive vigil with testimonies from families began at 21.00 on Saturday. In his address at the vigil<\/a> the Pope spoke about the theme of the meeting, the transmission of faith in the family, and added a passage for grandparents, whom he called the memory and richness of families. The closing Mass began at 9.30 on Sunday 9 July. In the homily<\/a> he described the family as “a community of generations and the guarantee of a patrimony of traditions”. Before leaving he thanked the volunteers who had come from many countries and announced that the next meeting would be held in Mexico City in 2009. His plane left Manises at 13.30. In the vigil address he noted that the participants had come from many parts of the world.<\/p>\n

Places linked to the meeting that can be visited today<\/h2>\n

Valencia Cathedral and the Holy Chalice<\/h3>\n

The cathedral stands on Plaza de la Reina in the old town. Its best-known treasure is the Holy Chalice, an agate cup that tradition identifies with the one used at the Last Supper. It has been kept in its own chapel inside the cathedral since the 15th century. The visit uses an audio guide and includes the chapel and the Cathedral Museum. The bell tower, El Miguelete, has 207 steps to a viewpoint over the city and needs a separate ticket.<\/p>\n

Practical details, according to Visit Val\u00e8ncia<\/a> in 2026:<\/p>\n