As night fell on the spacious outdoor Piazza del Plebiscito, purple stage lights synced with music that echoed across the square’s grandiose buildings in bustling Naples, Italy, creating a curiosity for those nearby. The crowd of a few thousand who had shown up while the sun still shone had swollen by sundown to an estimated 21,000 people, many of them standing.

Naples, a city of more than 900,000 people in a metropolitan area of more than 3 million, is known as the birthplace of pizza, a coastal port city with strong Roman Catholic tradition that is sometimes mixed with pagan superstition.

The vast spiritual needs in Naples include the challenges of nominal Catholicism and the vain pursuits of money, sex and pleasure endemic in Western culture, said Francesco Schiano, who helped organize more than 600 volunteers from some 350 area evangelical churches.

“You have a vacuum inside of you that can only be filled by Almighty God,” Franklin Graham said as he preached on the story of the Prodigal Son from Luke 15. But like the prodigal, who was far from God, all of humanity has a problem called sin, and it separates us from God. The good news, Franklin reminded the audience, is that “God sent His Son Jesus Christ to take our sins on the cross.” And by faith in what Christ did for us on that cross, “you can be forgiven.”

That message resonated with one 43-year-old man who had come to the Festival alone. The man, who was reluctant to give his name to the volunteer who prayed with him, admitted he had made a mess of his life, and his family had suffered, because of his gambling addiction. He came forward in desperation, seeking forgiveness and a new start.

“I told him, ‘Money can’t change your life. But Jesus can change your life,’” said Luciano, a prayer volunteer. “‘What Jesus did for me, He will do for you, transforming your life and your heart.’” The man prayed to receive Christ.

A 17-year-old girl named Giusy found new life in Christ after coming to the Festival with a Christian friend. She told Roberta, a Festival counselor, that she had struggled with despair and anxiety after her boyfriend was killed in a car accident. 

“She was very interested in finding some peace in her heart,” Roberta said. She told Giusy, “God has a plan for you, He loves you, and it is much better with Him leading your life.” 

A middle-aged woman named Sonia told counselor Raffella Russo that she was battling two types of cancer simultaneously. She wasn’t yet ready to embrace the Gospel message, but she came forward seeking prayer for her illness. Russo said he saw a divine appointment, because as he told the woman, he and his late wife were both converted to Christ because of his wife’s battle with cancer. 

“My wife is with Jesus now,” Russo said. “I told [Sonia] that if she gave all of her heart, soul and mind to Jesus, He will change her life.” Russo said he is praying that she will come to faith in Christ soon.

Luigi D’angelo said he prayed briefly with a man who was serving as a security guard at the event. The man said he had come forward to get a closer look at Franklin Graham. D’angelo asked the man if he could pray for him. At first the guard refused, saying that his background is in science. Finally, he told D’angelo he could pray for him, but partway through the prayer, the man indicated he felt something supernatural and he asked D’angelo to stop. The man walked away, seemingly shaken. D’angelo said he is praying the Holy Spirit draws the man to salvation.

Many believers in Naples were excited that the Gospel of Jesus Christ was getting attention in such a large public venue.

The opportunity to help others find faith in Christ was what drew Erico Dandien, who became a Christian two years ago, to volunteer as a prayer counselor. Dandien said that prior to being saved, he and his wife were both reeling from the pain of infertility, and he was suicidal. After he was saved, “There was a difference.” His wife also came to faith, he said, as did several family members. And the couple welcomed a baby boy who is now 10 months old. “Because of Christ, we now have hope.”

The large turnout came after months of preparation by churches in the Naples area. In the days leading up to the Festival, BGEA staff and local volunteers handed out flyers and hung posters, especially in the section of the city near the Piazza del Plebiscito. 

The day before the event, Franklin and Naples Mayor Gaetano Manfredi held a news conference that helped draw more attention to the Noi Festival.

On the day of the Festival, the rousing guitar and vocals of Dennis Agajanian seemed to energize the Italian crowd, followed by the praise and worship music of Christine D’Clario, Angelo Maugeri and the Tommy Coomes Band. Award-winning songwriter and vocalist Charity Gayle led the crowd in favorites such as I Speak Jesus and Thank You Jesus for the Blood before Franklin took the stage to preach. 

The event drew droves of people from Naples’ many quarters, but there were also 100 buses carrying church groups from near and far. A group from Milan—nearly 500 miles north—reportedly traveled by bus, leaving just after midnight on Friday to make it in time for the Saturday night event.

Following Festivals in Milan and Rome, this was only the third major evangelistic event held by evangelicals in Italy. Franklin told BGEA staff and volunteers that Italy was one of the few places his father, Billy Graham, never preached. At the time, churches were not eager to work together. This time nearly 350 churches cooperated in the Noi Festival. The Italian word Noi means we, us or together.

But when the COVID-19 pandemic spread to Europe in spring 2020, and northern Italy became the epicenter of infections, the Italian government asked Samaritan’s Purse to set up one of its mobile hospitals in Milan alongside Billy Graham Rapid Response Team chaplains. The goodwill that came from that ministry led to invitations for Franklin to proclaim the Good News on a large scale.

“By bringing a mobile hospital, God used that to open a door in the middle of the city,” Franklin told BGEA staff the day before the Naples event. 

Schiano, the church engagements director for the event, said the momentum churches have gained from bringing the Noi Festival to fruition will hopefully spur more evangelism and boldness in sharing the Gospel in an area that seems more open to spiritual conversations than some other European cities.

“It’s easier to talk about the Gospel because it’s just easier to talk with people here,” Schiano said. “It’s quite normal to talk to a stranger on a normal day. And especially if you are a foreigner, people are open to talk, and to talk about the Gospel.” ©2024 BGEA

Above: Thousands gather in the town square in Naples, Italy, to hear the Good News of Jesus Christ.

Photo: Thomas J. Petrino / ©2024 BGEA