MIAMI | Evangelization today requires a reinterpretation of the pious holy cards that show Jesus knocking on the door seeking to enter each person�s heart. Today, Jesus knocks on the door to urge people to go out from the temples and evangelize in the city. It is the task of every Christian.

This is what Argentines Victor Hugo Russo and Rub�n Aldo Linera explained during their visit to the Archdiocese of Miami this month, as they shared their experiences of urban ministry: God in the city.

The impetus for this type of urban evangelization was born out of the reflections of Latin American bishops who meet in Aparecida, Brazil in 2007. They then launched a continent-wide mission calling upon Christians to be disciples and missionaries so that the world might have life.

Fotógrafo: ARACELI CANTERO | FC

From left, God in the city presenters Ruben Aldo Linera and Victor Hugo Russo.

In Buenos Aires, Argentina, then-Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio took this mission very seriously and organized several congresses about urban ministry.

�God already lives in our city and urges us to go out to find him, to discover him, to build neighborly relationships, to accompany him in growth and to embody the ferment of His Word in concrete works.�

These are the words of now-Pope Francis, pronounced at the Regional Congress of Urban Ministry in Buenos Aires in August 2011.

Cardinal Bergoglio gave clues on how to find God in the city, summarized with the dynamic of �going out to encounter�: As with the story of Zacchaeus who, upon finding out that Jesus was in the city, went out to encounter him.

This is what Russo and Linera attempt to do through the Fundaci�n El Pobre de As�s (FEPA, or the Poor of Assisi Foundation), in the Archdiocese of Buenos Aires. And those were the experiences they shared with various parishes during their visit.

At Mother of Our Redeemer May 22, they spoke to members of the parish�s Charismatic Renewal group, Lanzando las Redes (Casting Nets). At St. John Neumann on May 23, they met with young people. They also gave conferences at two St. Dimas Outreach Programs: one at St. Joseph Mission, part of St. Elizabeth of Hungary Parish in Pompano Beach and the other at St. Robert Bellarmine Mission, part of Corpus Christi Parish in Miami.

They were invited to come by Deacon Edgardo Far�as, archdiocesan director of Prison Ministry, who met them �more than 30 years ago at a university community that tried to live the Gospel.� They recently reconnected via Skype and from there arose the possibility of inviting them to share their experiences with the urban ministry that had been encouraged by then-Cardinal Jorge Bergolio of Buenos Aires.

Fotógrafo: ARACELI CANTERO | FC

Mineva Padrino and her husband Carlos Pulido make a point during the God in the city presentation at the St. Dimas Center at St. Robert Bellarmine Mission in Miami.

Russo indicated that �Christ did not come for us to be at Mass once a week.�

For him, �going out� to evangelize is not simply about crossing a threshold. �We must go out to offer something. We must go out to meet needs, generate new opportunities.�

The Pobre de As�s foundation works with street persons and has opened day centers that offer medical care, a pharmacy, dining halls, and follow up.

The project has had a long gestation and passed through some crises, which it overcame thanks to the support of the former Archbishop of Buenos Aires, now Pope Francis. The project is comprised of a team of 45 persons and dozens of volunteers. It is funded with public funds, with donations from entrepreneurs and help from non-governmental organizations (or nonprofit organizations.)  Their work has a 50 percent success rate in helping people break the habit of living on the streets.

In their presentations, Russo and Linera explained that it is not about giving solutions, but instead accompanying others, so that the people themselves come up with the solutions, which is what they did with the youths.

Linera explained that they wanted to offer a space within the Church for the youths to express themselves. Since they didn�t know what response to give, they called on the youths to teach them. The youths called upon others to organize programs in art, movies and music. Each activity finishes with a retreat in which they commit to going out and inviting other young people to attend. They also sponsor youths to work in their own businesses so that they may have employment opportunities upon graduation.

Veronica Rubio of St. Katharine Drexel Parish in Weston said attending the conference helped in her ministry and to see the poor in the city. She visits women in jail.

Minerva Padrino arrived at the lecture at St. Robert Bellarmine worried about the next generation. As the mother of five children, she knows from experience that youths need to be spoken to in their language, �being more open and allowing them to express themselves as young people.�

Her husband, Carlo Pulido, felt called to give a testimony. �We, who are Church, need to open ourselves and go out so that others may know the love of God.� Citing the words of Pope Francis, he underscored that �we need to smell like sheep, find ways to get closer to the people and reach them.�

The Pulidos are involved in their parish�s prison ministry.

In addition to their talks, the two Argentines shared informally about their experiences in Buenos Aires and the surprise of seeing their archbishop become pope. They recognize the gestures they see in him as part of the essence of who he has always been. Linera even remembers his first Ignatian retreat with the then-provincial of the Society of Jesus, Father Bergoglio.

�It surprised me when he became bishop of Buenos Aires and nothing had changed. He continued to use worn shoes, two changes of clothing and nothing else, and did not opt to live in the episcopal house but instead in a small studio apartment near his work at the chancery. He continued to be the same, low profile, and very concentrated on his work.�