This morning's General Audience began at 10:00am in Saint Peter's Square. The Holy Father, Pope Francis met with groups of pilgrims and the faithful who had come from Italy and every other part of the world. Before making his way to the Square, the Pope greeted the sick who were gathered in the Paul VI Hall, where they were assembled because of the bad weather.
During his discourse, the Holy Father added a meditation on his recent Apostolic Voyage to Turkey.
Following the summaries of his catechesis, which were delivered in various languages, Pope Francis addressed particular greetings to each group of the faithful who were present.
The General Audience concluded with the chanting of the Pater Noster and the imparting of the Apostolic Blessing.
Good morning!
Today you are here because the weather is a bit ugly, and inside here it doesn't rain, Thank God. Then you can see the audience on the big screen. Thank you so much for your visit and I ask you to pray for me.
The Pope approached them and greeted them, then he continued:
Now you will stay here, follow the audience on the big screen, without the rain, here, calmly. Now we will pray to Our Lady to ask for Her blessing.
Hail Mary …
The Holy Father imparted his blessing to those who were present, then continued:
And let us prepare ourselves for Christmas, thinking of the coming of Jesus. I hope that Jesus comes to each of your hearts, and may He bless you and give you strength to go forward. Pray for me! Thank you!
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
It doesn't look like a really good day, the weather is a bit ugly. But you are very brave to be here smiling on this rainy morning, and so we continue! This audience will take place in two different places, as we usually do when it rains: here in the square and also there are some sick persons in the Paul VI Hall. I have already met them, and greeted them. They are following the audience on the big screen because they are sick and cannot be out in the rain. Let us say hello to them with some applause.
Today I would like to share with you some thoughts about my pilgrimage last weekend in Turkey. As I had asked that it be prepared for and supported by prayer, I now invite you to thank the Lord for its realization, in the hope that the fruits of dialogue will flow be it in our relations with our Orthodox brothers, or in our relationships with Muslims, or in the path to peace among peoples.
First of all, I would like to renew my expression of gratitude to the President of the Republic, to the Prime Minister, to the President for Religious Affairs and to the other Authorities who received me with respect and guaranteed the good order of the events. This requires a lot of work and they did it gladly.
I fraternally thank the Bishops of the Catholic Church in Turkey, the President of the Episcopal Conference, who is very good, I thank them all for their commitment, and I thank the Ecumenical Patriarch, His Holiness Bartholomew I, for his cordial welcome. Blessed Paul VI and Saint John Paul II, who both went to Turkey, and Saint John XXIII, who served as Papal Delegate in that Nation, protected my pilgrimage from Heaven, which took place eight years after that of my Predecessor Benedict XVI. That land is dear to every Christian, especially for having given birth to the Apostle Paul, for having hosted the first seven Councils, and for the presence, close to Ephesus, of Mary’s house. Tradition tells us that Our Lady lived there, after the coming of the Holy Spirit.
On the first day of my apostolic journey I greeted the Authorities of the country, the great majority of whom were Muslim, but whose Constitution affirms the secularism of the State and with the authorities I spoke about violence. It is, in fact, it is in forgetting God, and not focusing on His glorification, that violence is generated. Therefore, I insisted on the importance that Christians and Muslims be committed together to solidarity, to peace and to justice, affirming that every State must assure its citizens and its religious communities of real freedom of worship.
Today, before greeting the sick, I was with a group of Christians and Muslims who are at a meeting organized by the dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue, under the guidance of Cardinal Tauran, and they also have expressed this desire to continue in this fraternal dialogue among Catholics, Christians and Muslims.
On the second day, I visited several places - symbols of the different religious faiths present in Turkey. I did so hearing in my heart the invocation of the Lord, God of Heaven and Earth, merciful Father of the whole of humanity. The centre of the day was the Eucharistic Celebration, which gathered in the Cathedral pastors and faithful of the different Catholic rites present in Turkey. We were also assisted by the Ecumenical Patriarch, the Armenian Apostolic Patriarchal Vicar, the Syro-Orthodox Metropolitan and Protestant members. Together we invoked the Holy Spirit, He who brings about the unity of the Church: unity in faith, unity in charity, unity in interior cohesion. In the richness of their traditions and articulations, the People of God are called to allow themselves to be guided by the Holy Spirit, in a constant attitude of openness, of docility and of obedience. In our path of ecumenical dialogue and also in the unity of our Catholic Church, it is the Holy Spirit that does everything. We are supposed to let Him do it, to receive and follow His inspirations.
The third and final day, the Feast of Saint Andrew, offered the ideal context to consolidate fraternal relations between the Bishop of Rome, Successor of Peter, and the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, the Church founded, according to tradition, by the Apostle Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter. With His Holiness Bartholomew I, I renewed the mutual commitment to continue on the path towards the re-establishment of full communion between Catholics and Orthodox. Together we signed a Joint Declaration, a further step on this path. It was particularly significant that this act happened at the end of the solemn Liturgy of the Feast of Saint Andrew, which I attended with great joy, and which was followed by the double Blessing imparted by the Patriarch of Constantinople and the Bishop of Rome. Prayer, in fact, is the basis for all fruitful ecumenical dialogue under the guidance of the Holy Spirit who, as I said, is the one who creates unity.
The last meeting – which was both beautiful and painful - was with a group of refugee youth, guests of the Salesians. It was very important for me to meet with some refugees from the various areas affected by war in the Middle East, to express to them my closeness and that of the Church, to stress the value of hospitality, to which Turkey is also very committed. I would like to thank Turkey once again for receiving so many refugees and I sincerely thank the Salesians of Istanbul. These Salesians work with refugees, they are wonderful. I also met with other priests, a German Jesuit and others who work with refugees, but that Salesian Oratory for refugees is something beautiful, it is hidden work. I sincerely thank all those people who work with refugees. And we pray for all refugees and displaced persons, so that causes of this painful wound may be removed.
Dear brothers and sisters, may the Almighty and Merciful God continue to protect the Turkish people, its rulers and representatives of the different religions. May they be able to build together a future of peace, so that Turkey is able to represent a place of peaceful coexistence between religions and different cultures. In addition we pray, through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, that the Holy Spirit will render this apostolic journey fruitful and foster in the Church missionary fervor to proclaim to all peoples, in respect and in fraternal dialogue, that the Lord Jesus is Truth, Peace and Love. He alone is Lord. Thank you.
Following this catechesis, summaries of this text were spoken in various languages, and the Holy Father offered particular greetings to each group of pilgrims who were present. To English-speaking pilgrims, the Pope said:
I greet the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors taking part in today’s Audience, including the various groups from England, Malaysia, Nigeria, Australia and the United States of America. Upon all of you, and your families, I invoke joy and peace in the Lord Jesus. God bless you all!
During his discourse, the Holy Father added a meditation on his recent Apostolic Voyage to Turkey.
Following the summaries of his catechesis, which were delivered in various languages, Pope Francis addressed particular greetings to each group of the faithful who were present.
The General Audience concluded with the chanting of the Pater Noster and the imparting of the Apostolic Blessing.
Greetings of His Holiness, Pope Francis
for the encounter with the sick in the Paul VI Hall
Today you are here because the weather is a bit ugly, and inside here it doesn't rain, Thank God. Then you can see the audience on the big screen. Thank you so much for your visit and I ask you to pray for me.
The Pope approached them and greeted them, then he continued:
Now you will stay here, follow the audience on the big screen, without the rain, here, calmly. Now we will pray to Our Lady to ask for Her blessing.
Hail Mary …
The Holy Father imparted his blessing to those who were present, then continued:
And let us prepare ourselves for Christmas, thinking of the coming of Jesus. I hope that Jesus comes to each of your hearts, and may He bless you and give you strength to go forward. Pray for me! Thank you!
Catechesis of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
for the General Audience
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
It doesn't look like a really good day, the weather is a bit ugly. But you are very brave to be here smiling on this rainy morning, and so we continue! This audience will take place in two different places, as we usually do when it rains: here in the square and also there are some sick persons in the Paul VI Hall. I have already met them, and greeted them. They are following the audience on the big screen because they are sick and cannot be out in the rain. Let us say hello to them with some applause.
Today I would like to share with you some thoughts about my pilgrimage last weekend in Turkey. As I had asked that it be prepared for and supported by prayer, I now invite you to thank the Lord for its realization, in the hope that the fruits of dialogue will flow be it in our relations with our Orthodox brothers, or in our relationships with Muslims, or in the path to peace among peoples.
First of all, I would like to renew my expression of gratitude to the President of the Republic, to the Prime Minister, to the President for Religious Affairs and to the other Authorities who received me with respect and guaranteed the good order of the events. This requires a lot of work and they did it gladly.
I fraternally thank the Bishops of the Catholic Church in Turkey, the President of the Episcopal Conference, who is very good, I thank them all for their commitment, and I thank the Ecumenical Patriarch, His Holiness Bartholomew I, for his cordial welcome. Blessed Paul VI and Saint John Paul II, who both went to Turkey, and Saint John XXIII, who served as Papal Delegate in that Nation, protected my pilgrimage from Heaven, which took place eight years after that of my Predecessor Benedict XVI. That land is dear to every Christian, especially for having given birth to the Apostle Paul, for having hosted the first seven Councils, and for the presence, close to Ephesus, of Mary’s house. Tradition tells us that Our Lady lived there, after the coming of the Holy Spirit.
On the first day of my apostolic journey I greeted the Authorities of the country, the great majority of whom were Muslim, but whose Constitution affirms the secularism of the State and with the authorities I spoke about violence. It is, in fact, it is in forgetting God, and not focusing on His glorification, that violence is generated. Therefore, I insisted on the importance that Christians and Muslims be committed together to solidarity, to peace and to justice, affirming that every State must assure its citizens and its religious communities of real freedom of worship.
Today, before greeting the sick, I was with a group of Christians and Muslims who are at a meeting organized by the dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue, under the guidance of Cardinal Tauran, and they also have expressed this desire to continue in this fraternal dialogue among Catholics, Christians and Muslims.
On the second day, I visited several places - symbols of the different religious faiths present in Turkey. I did so hearing in my heart the invocation of the Lord, God of Heaven and Earth, merciful Father of the whole of humanity. The centre of the day was the Eucharistic Celebration, which gathered in the Cathedral pastors and faithful of the different Catholic rites present in Turkey. We were also assisted by the Ecumenical Patriarch, the Armenian Apostolic Patriarchal Vicar, the Syro-Orthodox Metropolitan and Protestant members. Together we invoked the Holy Spirit, He who brings about the unity of the Church: unity in faith, unity in charity, unity in interior cohesion. In the richness of their traditions and articulations, the People of God are called to allow themselves to be guided by the Holy Spirit, in a constant attitude of openness, of docility and of obedience. In our path of ecumenical dialogue and also in the unity of our Catholic Church, it is the Holy Spirit that does everything. We are supposed to let Him do it, to receive and follow His inspirations.
The third and final day, the Feast of Saint Andrew, offered the ideal context to consolidate fraternal relations between the Bishop of Rome, Successor of Peter, and the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, the Church founded, according to tradition, by the Apostle Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter. With His Holiness Bartholomew I, I renewed the mutual commitment to continue on the path towards the re-establishment of full communion between Catholics and Orthodox. Together we signed a Joint Declaration, a further step on this path. It was particularly significant that this act happened at the end of the solemn Liturgy of the Feast of Saint Andrew, which I attended with great joy, and which was followed by the double Blessing imparted by the Patriarch of Constantinople and the Bishop of Rome. Prayer, in fact, is the basis for all fruitful ecumenical dialogue under the guidance of the Holy Spirit who, as I said, is the one who creates unity.
The last meeting – which was both beautiful and painful - was with a group of refugee youth, guests of the Salesians. It was very important for me to meet with some refugees from the various areas affected by war in the Middle East, to express to them my closeness and that of the Church, to stress the value of hospitality, to which Turkey is also very committed. I would like to thank Turkey once again for receiving so many refugees and I sincerely thank the Salesians of Istanbul. These Salesians work with refugees, they are wonderful. I also met with other priests, a German Jesuit and others who work with refugees, but that Salesian Oratory for refugees is something beautiful, it is hidden work. I sincerely thank all those people who work with refugees. And we pray for all refugees and displaced persons, so that causes of this painful wound may be removed.
Dear brothers and sisters, may the Almighty and Merciful God continue to protect the Turkish people, its rulers and representatives of the different religions. May they be able to build together a future of peace, so that Turkey is able to represent a place of peaceful coexistence between religions and different cultures. In addition we pray, through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, that the Holy Spirit will render this apostolic journey fruitful and foster in the Church missionary fervor to proclaim to all peoples, in respect and in fraternal dialogue, that the Lord Jesus is Truth, Peace and Love. He alone is Lord. Thank you.
Following this catechesis, summaries of this text were spoken in various languages, and the Holy Father offered particular greetings to each group of pilgrims who were present. To English-speaking pilgrims, the Pope said:
I greet the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors taking part in today’s Audience, including the various groups from England, Malaysia, Nigeria, Australia and the United States of America. Upon all of you, and your families, I invoke joy and peace in the Lord Jesus. God bless you all!
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