ROME – The Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors has contributed to preparations for the Catholic Church in Brazil’s 2027 Lenten Campaign, which will focus on the theme “Fraternity and the Care of Children.”

The National Conference of the Bishops of Brazil (CNBB) publicly launched the campaign on 23 July, presenting its visual identity, prayer and hymn. The campaign will be observed across all 280 Brazilian dioceses during Lent 2027 and will be the first Lenten Campaign in the country to place child protection at the centre of its pastoral focus.

The Lenten Campaign is the Church in Brazil’s principal annual pastoral initiative, reaching more than 12,000 parishes as well as tens of thousands of ecclesial communities, catechetical groups, Catholic schools and Basic Ecclesial Communities.

The Commission was invited to contribute to the campaign’s Base Text by the CNBB Secretariat for Campaigns following its participation in the 62nd General Assembly of the Brazilian episcopate in Aparecida from 19-24 April.

During the assembly, Mons. Thibault Verny, Mons. Alí Herrera and Claudia Giampietro presented the Commission’s mandate and priorities to the bishops, with particular attention to the Brazilian ecclesial context.

The Commission’s contribution draws on its work to promote a culture of safeguarding and on the recent teaching of Pope Francis and Pope Leo XIV on the protection of minors and people in situations of vulnerability.

The collaboration forms part of the implementation of a Protocol of Intent signed on 21 April by the Commission, the CNBB and the Conference of Religious of Brazil. The agreement commits the three organisations to work together to strengthen a culture of protection, prevention and care within the Church in Brazil, with particular attention to pastoral formation and the accompaniment of ecclesial communities.

The 2027 Lenten Campaign represents one of the first concrete initiatives to emerge from that collaboration.

Cooperation between the Commission and the CNBB will continue in the coming months. The Commission will contribute to online formation materials related to the campaign and will participate remotely in a meeting of CNBB regional campaign coordinators in Brasília from 24-27 September.

The campaign’s Base Text will be studied and reflected upon throughout Brazil during Lent 2027, providing a further opportunity for the Church to deepen the reception of safeguarding initiatives across the country.