At 11:30am today, the Feast of the Holy Family, in the Paul VI Hall, Pope Francis met with more than 500 large families who have gathered in Rome from all over Italy for the meeting of the Association of Large Families which is celebrating its tenth anniversary this year. Large families from all over Europe are present for this meeting.
During the audience, the Holy Father shared with them the following greetings:
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
First of all, I have a question, something that I'm curious about; tell me: At what time did you get up this morning? At 6? At 5? You didn't sleep? Don't worry, I'll let you sleep during this speech!
I am happy to meet you during the tenth anniversary of your association which gathers large families here in Italy. I see that you love families and that you love life! It is good to thank the Lord for this gift on the day when we celebrate the Holy Family.
Today's gospel shows Mary and Joseph who are taking the baby Jesus to the temple, and there, they meet two elderly people: Simeon and Anna, who prophesy about the baby. This is the image of a large family, a little like your own families, where various generations meet and help one another. I thank Monsignor Paglia, the President of the Pontifical Council for the Family - a specialist in organizing these gatherings - who so dearly desired that this gathering should take place, and also Monsignor Beschi, who has been very involved in helping your Association to blossom and grow in the city of Blessed Paul VI, in Brescia.
You have come here along with the most beautiful fruit of your love. Maternity and paternity are gifts from God, but to accept this gift, to wonder at its beauty and to make it shine in society: this is your challenge. Every one of your children is a unique creation which will never be repeated in the story of humanity. When we understand this truth, which is to say that each of us has been desired by God, we stand in wonder at the great miracle that is a child! A child changes our lives! All of us have experienced this - men, women - that when a child is born, life changes, it becomes something else. A child is a miracle that changes a life. You, boys and girls, you are the ones who have done this: every one of you is the unique fruit of love, you have come from love and you grow and mature in love. You are unique, but not alone! And the fact that you have brothers and sisters is something good for you: the sons and daughters in a large family are more capable of creating fraternal communion even from early childhood. IN a world which is often characterized by selfishness, a large family is a school of solidarity and sharing: and these attitudes and approaches to life benefit all of society.
You, children and teenagers, are the fruit of the tree which is the family: you are the good fruit that is borne when the tree has good roots - that is your grandparents - and good trunks - which are your parents. Jesus said that every good tree bears good fruit and every bad tree bears bad fruit (cf Mt 7:17). The great family of humanity is like a forest, where good trees bring forth solidarity, communion, trust, support, security, happiness and friendship. The presence of large families represents hope for society. For this reason, it is very important that you value the presence of your grandparents: a precious presence both for practical assistance and above all for the sake of education. Grandparents keep within themselves the values of a people, of a family, and they help people to pass these values on to their children. In the last century, in many countries throughout Europe, there were grandparents passing on their faith: they even secretly brought their grandchildren to the Church to receive Baptism and passed on the gift of faith to them.
Dear parents, I am grateful for the example of love for life that you have maintained from conception to natural death, despite all the difficulties and challenges of life, and which unfortunately, public institutions do not always help to promote. You rightly mentioned that the Italian Constitution, Article 31, asks for particular attention to be paid to large families: but that this is not adequately reflected in the lived truth; it remains only words. Considering the low birth rate which has existed in Italy for quite some time now, my hope is that more attention will be paid to this challenge by the politicians and public administrators at every level, so that the envisioned support might be afforded to these families. Each family is a cell, a miniature of society, but large families are more enriched cells, more vital, and it is in the best interest of the State to invest in them!
It is good that families should be gathered together into an association - such as this Italian one and others from other European countries which are also represented here - it is good that there should be a network of family associations capable of being present and visible in society and in politics. Saint John Paul II, in this regard, wrote:Families should grow in awareness of being 'protagonists' of what is known as 'family politics' and assume responsibility for transforming society; otherwise families will be the first victims of the evils that they have done nothing more than note with indifference (Familiaris consortio, 44).
The commitment that the family associations develop in the various national and local Forums, is precisely that of promoting the values and needs of the family in society and in the laws of the State. We also welcome the ecclesial movements, in which you members of large families are particularly present and active. I always thank the Lord for mothers and fathers of large families, together with their children who are engaged in the life of the Church and society. For my part, I am close to you in prayer and I place you all under the protection of the Holy Family of Jesus, Joseph and Mary. And some beautiful news is that in Nazareth, a house is being built for families around the world who go as pilgrims to visit the place where Jesus grew in age, wisdom and grace (cf Lk. 2:40).
I pray in particular for the families who are most tested by the economic crisis, situations where the father or mother has lost a job, - and this is hard – where the youth have been unable to find work; I pray for families tried by loved ones and for those tempted to give in to loneliness and division.
Dear friends, dear parents, dear youth, dear children, dear grandparents, happy feast day to all of you. May each one of your families be always rich in the tenderness and consolation of God. I affectionately bless you. And please, continue to pray for me, because in a way I’m like a grandfather for all of you. Pray for me! Thank you.
During the audience, the Holy Father shared with them the following greetings:
Greetings of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
for the meeting with the members of the
Association of Large Families
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
First of all, I have a question, something that I'm curious about; tell me: At what time did you get up this morning? At 6? At 5? You didn't sleep? Don't worry, I'll let you sleep during this speech!
I am happy to meet you during the tenth anniversary of your association which gathers large families here in Italy. I see that you love families and that you love life! It is good to thank the Lord for this gift on the day when we celebrate the Holy Family.
Today's gospel shows Mary and Joseph who are taking the baby Jesus to the temple, and there, they meet two elderly people: Simeon and Anna, who prophesy about the baby. This is the image of a large family, a little like your own families, where various generations meet and help one another. I thank Monsignor Paglia, the President of the Pontifical Council for the Family - a specialist in organizing these gatherings - who so dearly desired that this gathering should take place, and also Monsignor Beschi, who has been very involved in helping your Association to blossom and grow in the city of Blessed Paul VI, in Brescia.
You have come here along with the most beautiful fruit of your love. Maternity and paternity are gifts from God, but to accept this gift, to wonder at its beauty and to make it shine in society: this is your challenge. Every one of your children is a unique creation which will never be repeated in the story of humanity. When we understand this truth, which is to say that each of us has been desired by God, we stand in wonder at the great miracle that is a child! A child changes our lives! All of us have experienced this - men, women - that when a child is born, life changes, it becomes something else. A child is a miracle that changes a life. You, boys and girls, you are the ones who have done this: every one of you is the unique fruit of love, you have come from love and you grow and mature in love. You are unique, but not alone! And the fact that you have brothers and sisters is something good for you: the sons and daughters in a large family are more capable of creating fraternal communion even from early childhood. IN a world which is often characterized by selfishness, a large family is a school of solidarity and sharing: and these attitudes and approaches to life benefit all of society.
You, children and teenagers, are the fruit of the tree which is the family: you are the good fruit that is borne when the tree has good roots - that is your grandparents - and good trunks - which are your parents. Jesus said that every good tree bears good fruit and every bad tree bears bad fruit (cf Mt 7:17). The great family of humanity is like a forest, where good trees bring forth solidarity, communion, trust, support, security, happiness and friendship. The presence of large families represents hope for society. For this reason, it is very important that you value the presence of your grandparents: a precious presence both for practical assistance and above all for the sake of education. Grandparents keep within themselves the values of a people, of a family, and they help people to pass these values on to their children. In the last century, in many countries throughout Europe, there were grandparents passing on their faith: they even secretly brought their grandchildren to the Church to receive Baptism and passed on the gift of faith to them.
Dear parents, I am grateful for the example of love for life that you have maintained from conception to natural death, despite all the difficulties and challenges of life, and which unfortunately, public institutions do not always help to promote. You rightly mentioned that the Italian Constitution, Article 31, asks for particular attention to be paid to large families: but that this is not adequately reflected in the lived truth; it remains only words. Considering the low birth rate which has existed in Italy for quite some time now, my hope is that more attention will be paid to this challenge by the politicians and public administrators at every level, so that the envisioned support might be afforded to these families. Each family is a cell, a miniature of society, but large families are more enriched cells, more vital, and it is in the best interest of the State to invest in them!
It is good that families should be gathered together into an association - such as this Italian one and others from other European countries which are also represented here - it is good that there should be a network of family associations capable of being present and visible in society and in politics. Saint John Paul II, in this regard, wrote:Families should grow in awareness of being 'protagonists' of what is known as 'family politics' and assume responsibility for transforming society; otherwise families will be the first victims of the evils that they have done nothing more than note with indifference (Familiaris consortio, 44).
The commitment that the family associations develop in the various national and local Forums, is precisely that of promoting the values and needs of the family in society and in the laws of the State. We also welcome the ecclesial movements, in which you members of large families are particularly present and active. I always thank the Lord for mothers and fathers of large families, together with their children who are engaged in the life of the Church and society. For my part, I am close to you in prayer and I place you all under the protection of the Holy Family of Jesus, Joseph and Mary. And some beautiful news is that in Nazareth, a house is being built for families around the world who go as pilgrims to visit the place where Jesus grew in age, wisdom and grace (cf Lk. 2:40).
I pray in particular for the families who are most tested by the economic crisis, situations where the father or mother has lost a job, - and this is hard – where the youth have been unable to find work; I pray for families tried by loved ones and for those tempted to give in to loneliness and division.
Dear friends, dear parents, dear youth, dear children, dear grandparents, happy feast day to all of you. May each one of your families be always rich in the tenderness and consolation of God. I affectionately bless you. And please, continue to pray for me, because in a way I’m like a grandfather for all of you. Pray for me! Thank you.
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