A ‘Joy March’ through Milan makes visible the message of evangelical churches

The commercial and historic city centre of Milan (Italy) witnessed on Saturday 21 June a “Joy March” that brought together evangelical churches and other mission organisations.

Between 3,000 and 5,000 believers marched holding banners, messages like “Jesus is the light” or “Jesus gives you freedom”.

The gathering ended in front of the Milan Cathedral with songs and dances performed by different groups and churches.

Rete Evangelistica in Missione (Evangelistic Network in Mission, REM) was the organiser, but range of denominatins in the city, including diaspora churches (Christian communities started by migrants) participated in what was the most attended march of this kind.

Pier Francesco Abortivi, among the participants, told Evangelical Focus that this Marcia della Gioia “started from a local park, went through some of the most elegant shopping streets in Milan, and ended in Piazza Duomo (the main piazza in Milan, in front of the Cathedral), where music, dances, and testimonies were shared with the public”.

“It was exciting to see so many believers from different cultures and backgrounds united in sharing to the city the joy we have in Jesus”, he explained.

Participants shared on social media impressions of this event that sought, among other aims, to give visibility to the life and message of evangelical churches in the region around Milan.