At 5:00pm today, in the Paul VI Hall, the Holy Father, Pope Francis received in audience members of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem who are in Rome on a pilgrimage to celebrate the Year of Faith.
Your Eminence,
Members of the Grand Magesterium and Lieutenants,
Dear brothers and sisters,
I welcome all of you who represent the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem. In particular, I greet Cardinal Edwin O'Brien, Grand Master of the Order, and I thank him for the words he has addressed to me on behalf of you all. I also greet the Grand Prior, His Beatitude, Fouad Twal, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem.
You have gathered in Rome on the occasion of the Order's World Consultation, which is convened every five years to reflect on the situation of the Catholic community in the Holy Land, to evaluate the activities and to determine guidelines for the future, while simultaneously holding the International Pilgrimage, which involves the participation of over two thousand people. Thank you for your visit. I wish to express my appreciation and encouragement for charitable initiatives that your Order promotes for the Good of the Holy Sites, which in recent years have been developed and expanded. In this Year of Faith, your pilgrimage to the tomb of the Apostle Peter is marked by prayer and catechesis on the theme of faith. Starting from these elements, I would like to be guided by three words, which I have already proposed at the beginning of my ministry, but can offer also for reflection in the context of the activity of your Order. The three words are: walking, build and confess.
1. Walking . You are living the experience of the pilgrimage, which is a great symbol of human and Christian life. Each of us can be wandering or on pilgrimage, either a wanderer, or a pilgrim. The times we are living witness many people who are wanderers because they are without an ideal in life and often unable to make sense of the events of the world. With the sign of the pilgrimage, you show a desire not to be wanderers. Your journey takes place in history, in a world where boundaries are pushed back more and more, many barriers fall away and our paths are tied ever more closely to that of others. Be witnesses of profound meaning in the light that brings the faith, by preserving the richness of the values and wisdom of the past, but also by intensely living the present, making commitments in the present, with an eye toward the future, opening up horizons of hope through your efforts to give a more human face to the Order.
2. And so the second word: build . We are always walking and building the community, especially with love. The Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem has a history of almost a thousand years; your Order is one of the oldest charities which is still active. Established for the custody of the Holy Sepulchre, it has always enjoyed special attention paid to it by the Bishops of Rome who are constantly building with love and with compassion. In fact, your pilgrimage also has a charitable purpose, in favor of the brothers and sisters of the Holy Land, especially the most needy, those who are going through times of suffering, tension and fear, and even our Christian brothers and sisters who are suffering so much. They address with great affection, a greeting and a hug to all of you - Christians and non-Christians - while ensuring you of my daily prayers.
3. But your walking and your building comes from your confession of an ever deepening faith which grows from the continual commitment to feeding your spiritual life, from a lifetime of learning, and from a Christian life which is ever more authentic and consistent.This is an important point for each of you and for the whole Order, so that everyone is helped to deepen his commitment to Christ: the profession of faith and the witness of charity are closely linked and are the key points and strengths of your action. Your commitment binds you to the ancient Holy Sepulchre, a perpetual memorial of Christ crucified who was buried and who rose again: Christ who has conquered death. Jesus, the crucified and risen Christ, is truly the centre of your existence and of every one of your personal and communal endeavors to believe in the redemptive power of the Cross and the Resurrection and to offer hope and peace. In particular, the Land of Jesus needs you so much! Faith does not move away from the responsibility that we are all called to assume; on the contrary, it provokes and pushes us toward a concrete commitment to build a better society.
The Lord will help you to always be ambassadors of peace and love among your brothers. He will make your work more fruitful. May the Virgin of Nazareth assist you in your mission to look with love on the places where Christ lived and healed. In all this, you will be accompanied by my Blessing, which I impart to you and your entire Order.
Speech presented by the Holy Father, Pope Francis
for the gathering with the Equestrian Order of
the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem
Your Eminence,
Members of the Grand Magesterium and Lieutenants,
Dear brothers and sisters,
I welcome all of you who represent the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem. In particular, I greet Cardinal Edwin O'Brien, Grand Master of the Order, and I thank him for the words he has addressed to me on behalf of you all. I also greet the Grand Prior, His Beatitude, Fouad Twal, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem.
You have gathered in Rome on the occasion of the Order's World Consultation, which is convened every five years to reflect on the situation of the Catholic community in the Holy Land, to evaluate the activities and to determine guidelines for the future, while simultaneously holding the International Pilgrimage, which involves the participation of over two thousand people. Thank you for your visit. I wish to express my appreciation and encouragement for charitable initiatives that your Order promotes for the Good of the Holy Sites, which in recent years have been developed and expanded. In this Year of Faith, your pilgrimage to the tomb of the Apostle Peter is marked by prayer and catechesis on the theme of faith. Starting from these elements, I would like to be guided by three words, which I have already proposed at the beginning of my ministry, but can offer also for reflection in the context of the activity of your Order. The three words are: walking, build and confess.
1. Walking . You are living the experience of the pilgrimage, which is a great symbol of human and Christian life. Each of us can be wandering or on pilgrimage, either a wanderer, or a pilgrim. The times we are living witness many people who are wanderers because they are without an ideal in life and often unable to make sense of the events of the world. With the sign of the pilgrimage, you show a desire not to be wanderers. Your journey takes place in history, in a world where boundaries are pushed back more and more, many barriers fall away and our paths are tied ever more closely to that of others. Be witnesses of profound meaning in the light that brings the faith, by preserving the richness of the values and wisdom of the past, but also by intensely living the present, making commitments in the present, with an eye toward the future, opening up horizons of hope through your efforts to give a more human face to the Order.
2. And so the second word: build . We are always walking and building the community, especially with love. The Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem has a history of almost a thousand years; your Order is one of the oldest charities which is still active. Established for the custody of the Holy Sepulchre, it has always enjoyed special attention paid to it by the Bishops of Rome who are constantly building with love and with compassion. In fact, your pilgrimage also has a charitable purpose, in favor of the brothers and sisters of the Holy Land, especially the most needy, those who are going through times of suffering, tension and fear, and even our Christian brothers and sisters who are suffering so much. They address with great affection, a greeting and a hug to all of you - Christians and non-Christians - while ensuring you of my daily prayers.
3. But your walking and your building comes from your confession of an ever deepening faith which grows from the continual commitment to feeding your spiritual life, from a lifetime of learning, and from a Christian life which is ever more authentic and consistent.This is an important point for each of you and for the whole Order, so that everyone is helped to deepen his commitment to Christ: the profession of faith and the witness of charity are closely linked and are the key points and strengths of your action. Your commitment binds you to the ancient Holy Sepulchre, a perpetual memorial of Christ crucified who was buried and who rose again: Christ who has conquered death. Jesus, the crucified and risen Christ, is truly the centre of your existence and of every one of your personal and communal endeavors to believe in the redemptive power of the Cross and the Resurrection and to offer hope and peace. In particular, the Land of Jesus needs you so much! Faith does not move away from the responsibility that we are all called to assume; on the contrary, it provokes and pushes us toward a concrete commitment to build a better society.
The Lord will help you to always be ambassadors of peace and love among your brothers. He will make your work more fruitful. May the Virgin of Nazareth assist you in your mission to look with love on the places where Christ lived and healed. In all this, you will be accompanied by my Blessing, which I impart to you and your entire Order.
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