At 10:30am today, in Saint Peter's Square, the Holy Father, Pope Francis met with Padre Pio Prayer Groups, employees of the House for the Relief of Suffering and the faithful of the Archdiocese of Manfredonia-Vieste-San Giovanni Rotondo who are in Rome to mark the occasion of the transfer of the body of Saint Pio of Pietrelcina to Rome for the Jubilee of Mercy.
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
I welcome you all - I see that you are very numerous! - and I thank Monsignor Castoro for the words he has addressed to me. I greet all of you who have come from various countries and regions, united in great affection and gratitude to Saint Pio of Pietrelcina. You are grateful because he has helped you to discover the treasure of life that is the love of God, and to experience the beauty of the forgiveness and mercy of the Lord. This is a science that should be taught every day, because it is beautiful: the beauty of the forgiveness and mercy of the Lord.
We can truly say that Padre Pio was a servant of mercy. He did it full time, at times to the point of exhaustion in a ministry of listening. Through the ministry of Confession, he became the Father's living caress, that heals the wounds of sin and refreshes the heart with peace. Saint Pio was never too tired to welcome people and to listen to them, to spend his time and strength to spread the perfume of the Lord's forgiveness. He could do this because he was always attached to the source: continuously fed by Jesus Crucified, and therefore he became a channel of mercy. He carried so many people and so much suffering in his heart, drawing them all to the love of Christ who gave himself to the very end (Jn 13:1). He lived the great mystery of suffering offered out of love. In this way, his little drop has become a great river of mercy, which has irrigated many deserted hearts and has created oases of life in many parts of the world.
I am mindful of the prayer groups that Saint Pio defined as nurseries of faith, focal points of love; not only as community centres where we can spend time comfortably with friends, consoling one another a bit, but focal points of divine love. This is the aim of prayer groups! Prayer is in fact a true and proper mission, that passes on the fire of love to all humanity. Padre Pio says that prayer is a strength that moves the world. Prayer is a strength that moves the world! But do we believe this? It's true. We can prove it! It is - he adds - spreading the smile and the blessing of God on every stagnation and weakness (2nd International Convention of Prayer Groups, 5 May 1966).
Prayer then, is not a good practice in order for us to find a bit of peace in our hearts; not even a quasi devotion in order to obtain from God that which would be useful to us. If this were true, it would move from a subtle selfishness: I pray for good health, as though I had taken an aspirin. No, it is not like this. I pray to receive something, or in order to receive something. It's not like that. Prayer is something else, it's something else. Prayer is a work of spiritual mercy, that is intended to bring us to the heart of God. You take over, you who are Father. This is how it should be, to say it in simple words. Prayer is a matter of saying: You take over, you who are Father. Gaze upon us, you who are our Father. This is how we develop a relationship with the Father, prayer is like this. It is a gift of faith and of love, an intercession that we need, like bread. In a word, it means to entrust: entrusting the Church, entrusting people, entrusting situations to the Father - I entrust this thing to you - so that he can take care of it. This is the reason for prayer, as Padre Pio loved to say: the best armour is prayer, a key that opens the heart of God. A key that opens the heart of God: it is an easy key. The heart of God is not sealed with all kinds of safety precautions. You can open it with a common key, with prayer ... because he has a heart of love, the heart of a father. Prayer is the greatest strength of the Church, that we must never forget because the Church bears fruit when it follows the example of Our Lady and the apostles, who were persevering with one mind in prayer (Acts 1:14), as the awaited the coming of the Holy Spirit. Persevering and united in prayer. Otherwise, we risk focusing on other things: our own strengths, money, power; then evangelization vanishes, joy disappears and the heart becomes bored. Do you want to have a heart that is bored? (The people respond: No!) Do you want to have a joyous heart? (Yes!) Pray! This is the secret.
While I thank you for your commitment, I also wish to encourage you, for prayer groups are mercy factories: factories that are always open and producing, that with the humble power of prayer provide the light of God to the world and the energy of love to the Church. Padre Pio, who referred to himself as merely: a poor brother who prays, wrote that prayer is the highest apostolate that a soul could exercise in the Church of God (Epistle II, 70). Always be joyful apostles of prayer! Prayer can do miracles. The apostolate of prayer can do miracles.
Along with the spiritual work of mercy that prayer groups accomplish, Saint Pio desired an extraordinary work of corporal mercy: the House for Relief of the Suffering, begun sixty years ago. He wanted this to not only be an excellent hospital, but a temple of science and prayer. In fact, human beings always need something more than technically proper care. They need humanity. They need heart-felt attention (Benedict XVI, Deus caritas est, 31). This is very important: care for the sickness, but above all, take care of the sick person. These are two different things, and both are important: care for the sickness, but take care of the sick person. It can happen that, while we medicate the bodily wounds, we aggravate the wounds of the soul, which are slower and more difficult to care for. Even the dying, who sometimes seem to be unconscious, participate in the prayer of faith that takes place beside them, confiding them to God, to his mercy. I remember the death of a priest friend. He was an apostle, a man of God, but he was in a coma at the time ... the doctors said: We don't know how he is still breathing. Another priest friend came in, drew close to him and spoke to him. He heard. Allow yourself to be carried by the Lord. Let go. Trust, entrust yourself to the Lord, and with these words, he went peacefully. There are so many people in need, many sick people who utter words, who give caresses, who utter their words in order to spend their strength in order to advance the disease or to meet the Lord. They need you to help them trust in the Lord. I am very grateful to you and to all those who serve the sick with competence, love and living faith. Let us ask for the grace to recognize the presence of Christ in sick people and in those who suffer, as Padre Pio often said: the sick person is Jesus. The sick person is Jesus. He is the flesh of Christ.
I also want to extend my good wishes to the faithful of the Archdiocese of Manfredonia-Vieste-San Giovanni Rotondo. Saint John Paul II said that those who went to San Giovanni Rotondo to participate in the Mass, to ask for Padre Pio's advice and to celebrate Confession, saw in him a living image of the suffering and risen Christ. On the face of Padre Pio, the light of the resurrection shone (Homily for the beatification of Padre Pio of Pietrelcina, 2 May 1999, Teachings, XXII, 1, 1999, 862). May everyone who visits your beautiful home - I myself want to go there! - also find in you a reflection of the light of heaven! Thank you, and I ask you please to never forget to pray for me. Thank you.
Let us all pray, knocking at the door of the heart of God who is our merciful Father: Our Father ...
And we are not an orphan Church, we have a mother. Let us pray to our mother, let us pray to our mother. Hail Mary ...
Speech of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
addressed to pilgrims accompanying
the transfer of the saint's body to Rome
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
I welcome you all - I see that you are very numerous! - and I thank Monsignor Castoro for the words he has addressed to me. I greet all of you who have come from various countries and regions, united in great affection and gratitude to Saint Pio of Pietrelcina. You are grateful because he has helped you to discover the treasure of life that is the love of God, and to experience the beauty of the forgiveness and mercy of the Lord. This is a science that should be taught every day, because it is beautiful: the beauty of the forgiveness and mercy of the Lord.
We can truly say that Padre Pio was a servant of mercy. He did it full time, at times to the point of exhaustion in a ministry of listening. Through the ministry of Confession, he became the Father's living caress, that heals the wounds of sin and refreshes the heart with peace. Saint Pio was never too tired to welcome people and to listen to them, to spend his time and strength to spread the perfume of the Lord's forgiveness. He could do this because he was always attached to the source: continuously fed by Jesus Crucified, and therefore he became a channel of mercy. He carried so many people and so much suffering in his heart, drawing them all to the love of Christ who gave himself to the very end (Jn 13:1). He lived the great mystery of suffering offered out of love. In this way, his little drop has become a great river of mercy, which has irrigated many deserted hearts and has created oases of life in many parts of the world.
I am mindful of the prayer groups that Saint Pio defined as nurseries of faith, focal points of love; not only as community centres where we can spend time comfortably with friends, consoling one another a bit, but focal points of divine love. This is the aim of prayer groups! Prayer is in fact a true and proper mission, that passes on the fire of love to all humanity. Padre Pio says that prayer is a strength that moves the world. Prayer is a strength that moves the world! But do we believe this? It's true. We can prove it! It is - he adds - spreading the smile and the blessing of God on every stagnation and weakness (2nd International Convention of Prayer Groups, 5 May 1966).
Prayer then, is not a good practice in order for us to find a bit of peace in our hearts; not even a quasi devotion in order to obtain from God that which would be useful to us. If this were true, it would move from a subtle selfishness: I pray for good health, as though I had taken an aspirin. No, it is not like this. I pray to receive something, or in order to receive something. It's not like that. Prayer is something else, it's something else. Prayer is a work of spiritual mercy, that is intended to bring us to the heart of God. You take over, you who are Father. This is how it should be, to say it in simple words. Prayer is a matter of saying: You take over, you who are Father. Gaze upon us, you who are our Father. This is how we develop a relationship with the Father, prayer is like this. It is a gift of faith and of love, an intercession that we need, like bread. In a word, it means to entrust: entrusting the Church, entrusting people, entrusting situations to the Father - I entrust this thing to you - so that he can take care of it. This is the reason for prayer, as Padre Pio loved to say: the best armour is prayer, a key that opens the heart of God. A key that opens the heart of God: it is an easy key. The heart of God is not sealed with all kinds of safety precautions. You can open it with a common key, with prayer ... because he has a heart of love, the heart of a father. Prayer is the greatest strength of the Church, that we must never forget because the Church bears fruit when it follows the example of Our Lady and the apostles, who were persevering with one mind in prayer (Acts 1:14), as the awaited the coming of the Holy Spirit. Persevering and united in prayer. Otherwise, we risk focusing on other things: our own strengths, money, power; then evangelization vanishes, joy disappears and the heart becomes bored. Do you want to have a heart that is bored? (The people respond: No!) Do you want to have a joyous heart? (Yes!) Pray! This is the secret.
While I thank you for your commitment, I also wish to encourage you, for prayer groups are mercy factories: factories that are always open and producing, that with the humble power of prayer provide the light of God to the world and the energy of love to the Church. Padre Pio, who referred to himself as merely: a poor brother who prays, wrote that prayer is the highest apostolate that a soul could exercise in the Church of God (Epistle II, 70). Always be joyful apostles of prayer! Prayer can do miracles. The apostolate of prayer can do miracles.
Along with the spiritual work of mercy that prayer groups accomplish, Saint Pio desired an extraordinary work of corporal mercy: the House for Relief of the Suffering, begun sixty years ago. He wanted this to not only be an excellent hospital, but a temple of science and prayer. In fact, human beings always need something more than technically proper care. They need humanity. They need heart-felt attention (Benedict XVI, Deus caritas est, 31). This is very important: care for the sickness, but above all, take care of the sick person. These are two different things, and both are important: care for the sickness, but take care of the sick person. It can happen that, while we medicate the bodily wounds, we aggravate the wounds of the soul, which are slower and more difficult to care for. Even the dying, who sometimes seem to be unconscious, participate in the prayer of faith that takes place beside them, confiding them to God, to his mercy. I remember the death of a priest friend. He was an apostle, a man of God, but he was in a coma at the time ... the doctors said: We don't know how he is still breathing. Another priest friend came in, drew close to him and spoke to him. He heard. Allow yourself to be carried by the Lord. Let go. Trust, entrust yourself to the Lord, and with these words, he went peacefully. There are so many people in need, many sick people who utter words, who give caresses, who utter their words in order to spend their strength in order to advance the disease or to meet the Lord. They need you to help them trust in the Lord. I am very grateful to you and to all those who serve the sick with competence, love and living faith. Let us ask for the grace to recognize the presence of Christ in sick people and in those who suffer, as Padre Pio often said: the sick person is Jesus. The sick person is Jesus. He is the flesh of Christ.
I also want to extend my good wishes to the faithful of the Archdiocese of Manfredonia-Vieste-San Giovanni Rotondo. Saint John Paul II said that those who went to San Giovanni Rotondo to participate in the Mass, to ask for Padre Pio's advice and to celebrate Confession, saw in him a living image of the suffering and risen Christ. On the face of Padre Pio, the light of the resurrection shone (Homily for the beatification of Padre Pio of Pietrelcina, 2 May 1999, Teachings, XXII, 1, 1999, 862). May everyone who visits your beautiful home - I myself want to go there! - also find in you a reflection of the light of heaven! Thank you, and I ask you please to never forget to pray for me. Thank you.
Let us all pray, knocking at the door of the heart of God who is our merciful Father: Our Father ...
And we are not an orphan Church, we have a mother. Let us pray to our mother, let us pray to our mother. Hail Mary ...
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