After morning prayer in the various language groups the second day began with a presentation by Father Bertrand Ponsard, C.M., chaplain of the Miraculous Medal Chapel on the rue du Bac in Paris. He explained in detail the activities carried out during this 175th anniversary year in this Marian shrine. He said that they have approximately 21,000 Masses in a year, celebrated by almost 7,000 priests from around the world.

Each year thousands of people arrive at the foot of the altar with debts, illnesses, or other problems, but also with happiness and victories. To open the chapel to the world, they developed a web site, which all were invited to visit. The address is
http://www.chapellenotredamedelamedaillemiraculeuse.com/
The chaplain offered this shrine as an open house for the Association of the Miraculous Medal.

Father Miguel Angel Renes, C.M., of the Madrid Province, continued with a talk on the Church of Vatican II. Father Renes gave a brief summary of the history of the Council, which marked a new direction in the Church. It opened the Church to the world, introduced the idea of the People of God, a Church of charisms, communion, and participation. Because of their baptism all Christians have responsibilities for building up the kingdom of God. In conclusion, he proposed a series of challenges for all members of the AMM.

Working from Father Renes’ talk and their work of the previous day, the language-based workgroups drafted concrete solutions. The plenary session offered a rich sharing on the priorities for the next few years. There were common themes of approaches to the responsibility of the laity, to promotion of the young, to formation, and to rereading the Virgin Mary’s message to Catherine Labouré for today's world.

In the afternoon the AMM of Spain explained their experiences with formation in recent years. They emphasized the importance of formation beginning in the centers and reaching out to local communities. A common theme of the AMM is Spain is: “To pray with Mary and to pray like Mary is to become people of prayer.” Afterward the group from like Central America shared their experience of collaboration in formation with the Vincentian Family.

The day’s work ended with descriptions of shared apostolate experiences. In Colombia they carry out a service on the street with people addicted to drugs, and members in Cameroon work with orphan children and itinerant missions. Finally, Philadelphia (United States) and Central Africa described their apostolates.

Portugal directed the Mass for the day. It included a unique penitential rite, an extended offertory procession, and a gift for each person of an envelope with earth from Fatima.

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