Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network promulgates new General Regulations

By Vatican News  

On Thursday, March 19 the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network (PWPN) promulgated its new General Regulations.

A statement released by the body says the document “offers an organic and updated vision of the identity, mission, and structure” and emphasizes the PWPN’s nature as not “just another movement within the Church” but “a universal network at the direct service of the pontiff and of all those who join him through bonds of prayer and service.”

The statement highlights that the date of the promulgation on the feast of St. Joseph, “is not accidental,” as he is the patron saint of the Society of Jesus, to which the Pope has entrusted the apostolic administration of this Pontifical Work.

Its service is carried out through the Vatican Foundation based in Rome and through a network of 22 million people present in more than 90 countries.

Mission rooted in the Heart of Jesus

The statement underlines that the new Regulations define the PWPN as a Pontifical Apostolic Work and Vatican Foundation “at the ecclesial service of the Holy See.”

It notes that the PWPN’s purpose is to mobilize Christians to respond—through prayer, spiritual formation, and service—to the challenges of humanity and of the Church’s mission, as discerned and expressed monthly in the Pope’s prayer intentions.

Father Cristóbal Fones, SJ, International Director of the PWPN, said that the publication of the General Regulations is “a constant reminder of the mission that the Holy Father has entrusted to us and to which we seek to remain faithful throughout the world.”

The mission of the network is grounded in the spirituality of the Heart of Jesus and finds in the formative itinerary The Way of the Heart its central pedagogical reference. This aims to unite intimacy with Christ with concrete commitment through prayer and thus help be more open to the issues of the world.

The statement also says that as heir to the historic Apostleship of Prayer, the PWPN harmonizes in the new Regulations its tradition with contemporary challenges.

The document offers guidelines to help the network and its members “walk together” - in coherence with the definitive Statutes approved in 2024 - and establishes a normative framework with an initial validity of two years, until its planned review in 2028.

The structure of the new Regulations

The statement released by the body also explains that the new Regulations are organized into four parts.

The first defines the identity and nature of the Work as a Vatican Foundation. The second describes its international, national, diocesan, and community structure, specifying governing bodies, advisory committees, and administrative guidelines.

The third details the modes of participation and, lastly, the fourth part establishes a common framework for the safeguarding and protection of minors and vulnerable adults, through methodological, formative, and procedural criteria that are mandatory for the entire Network, ensuring coherence, transparency, and accountability.

The Vatican Foundation, with its International Office in Rome, animates and coordinates the global mission, always in dialogue with local diocesan ecclesial structures and with the Prayer Network. This articulation allows the PWPN to maintain its universal character while being inculturated in each national ecclesial reality.

A network not a movement           

One of the main aspects emphasized in the new General Regulations is the fact that PWPN “is not a closed association nor a movement with an autonomous identity, but a broad and diverse network of Christians.”

These members from varying parishes, dioceses, congregations, movements and communities “allow themselves to be mobilized by the common mission of praying and acting with the same sentiments as Christ and according to the compass of the Pope’s intentions,” broadening their view of the world.

The statement explains that the new Regulations detail two modes of participation. The first is open to everyone: anyone may pray for the Pope’s intentions, especially through the Monthly Day of Prayer on the first Fridays.

The second is a more explicit mode of belonging and involves adopting a daily rhythm of prayer and, eventually, consecration to the Heart of Jesus, either personally or in community.

Within this framework, the statement explains there is also the Eucharistic Youth Movement (EYM), a youth initiative proposed by the Network and inspired by the narrative of the disciples of Emmaus.