General Audience on the seal of the Holy Spirit

This morning's General Audience began at 9:35am (3:35am EDT) in Saint Peter's Square where the Holy Father, Pope Francis met with groups of pilgrims and the faithful from Italy and from every corner of the world.

In his speech, the Pope continued the new cycle of catechesis on the Sacrament of Confirmation, adding his meditation on the seal of the Holy Spirit (Biblical passage: from the Letter of Saint Paul the Apostle to the Galatians 5:22-23).

After having summarized his catechesis in various languages, the Holy Father offered particular greetings to each group of the faithful in attendance.

The General Audience concluded with the chanting of the Pater Noster and the Apostolic blessing.

Catechesis of the Holy Father, Pope Francis

for the General Audience

Dear brothers and sisters,

Continuing the explanation of Confirmation, I decided to shed some light today on the intimate connection this sacrament has with the whole of Christian initiation (Sacrosanctum Concilium, 71).

Before receiving the spiritual anointing that confirms and strengthens the grace of Baptism, those who are to be confirmed are called and they renew the promises that were made on the day of their baptism by their parents and godparents.  Now, it is they themselves who profess the faith of the Church, now that they are ready to respond I believe to the questions that are asked by the Bishop; ready, in particular, to believe in the Holy Spirit, who is Lord and who gives life, and who today, through the Sacrament of Confirmation, is conferred upon them in a special way, as it was to te Apostles on the day of Pentecost (Rite of Confirmation, 26).

Since the coming of the Holy Spirit requires hearts to be gathered in prayer (cf Acts 1:14), after the silent prayer of the community, the Bishop, holding his own hands out over the confirmandi, implores God to infuse them with his Holy Spirit, the Paraclete.  The Spirit is one (cf 1 Cor 12:4), but this Spirit comes to us, bringing a richness of gifts: wisdom, intellect, counsel, fortitude, understanding, piety and a holy fear of God (cf Rite of Confirmation, 28-29).  We have heard the Biblical passage that explains these gifts that the Holy Spirit brings.  According to the prophet Isaiah (Is 11:2), these are the seven virtues of that the Spirit poured out upon the Messiah so that he could fulfill his mission.  Saint Paul too describes the abundant fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, magnanimity, benevolence, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, self control (Gal 5:22).  The one Spirit distributes these multiple gifts which enrich the Church: he is the Author of diversity, but at the same time, he is the Creator of unity.  Thus, the Spirit gives all these gifts which are diverse but that also create harmony, which is to say the unity of all spiritual treasures that we Christians possess.

According to tradition, as attested to by the Apostles, the Spirit who completes the grace of Baptism is passed on through the laying on of hands (cf Acts 8:15-17; 19:5-6; Heb 6:2).  To this biblical gesture, in order to better express the effusion of the Spirit that pervades those who receive it, an anointing with perfumed oil has been added, oil that is called Chrism (1), a practice that remains in effect today, both in the East and in the West (cf Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1289).

This oil - the oil of Chrism - is a therapeutic and cosmetic substance, which enters into the tissues of body to medicate our wounds and to perfume our limbs; because of these qualities, it is assumed by biblical and liturgical symbolism to express the action of the Holy Spirit who consecrates and permeates the one who has been baptized, embellishing him or her with charisms.  The Sacrament is conferred through the anointing with Chrism on the forehead, which is performed by the Bishop with the imposition of his hand and by speaking the words: Receive the seal of the Holy Spirit which is given to you as a gift (2).  The Holy Spirit is the invisible gift that is bestowed and the Chrism is its visible sign.

Receiving the sign of the cross on the forehead with perfumed oil, the Confirmandi therefore receives and indelible spiritual mark, the character of Confirmation, which configures him or her more perfectly to Christ and gives him or her the grace to diffuse this good odour among all peoples (cf 2 Cor 2:15).

Let us listen once more to the invitation Saint Ambrose offered to the newly Confirmed.  He said: Remember that you have received the spiritual seal ... and therefore you must protect what you have received.  God our Father has marked you, he has confirmed in you Christ the Lord and has placed the Spirit within your heart as a pledge (De mysteriis, 7, 42; CSEL 73, 106; cf Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1303).  The Spirit is undeservedly a gift, to be welcomed with gratitude, making room for his inexhaustible creativity.  It is a gift that should be carefully kept, a gift that should teach us to be docile, allowing ourselves to be moulded, like wax, by the fire of its charity, to reflect Jesus Christ in the world today (Gaudete et exsultate, 23).

(1)  Here is a passage from the prayer of blessing for the Chrism: Now, we pray you, O Father: sanctify with your blessing + this oil, the gift of your providence; fill it with the strength of your Spirit and with the power that emanates from Christ whose holy name is used to refer to this oil that consecrates priests, kings, prophets and martyrs ... This anointing penetrates them and sanctifies them, so that freed from their natural corruption, and consecrates as temples of your glory, they may spread the perfume of their holy lives (Blessing of oil, 22).

(2)  The formula, receive the Holy Spirit - the gift of the Holy Spirit appears in Jn 20:22, Acts 2:38 and Acts 10:45-47.



The Holy Father's catechesis was then summarized in various languages, and he offered greetings to each group of the faithful in attendance.  To English-speaking pilgrims, he said:

I greet the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors taking part in today’s Audience, particularly those from England, Scotland, Korea, Indonesia, Singapore, Australia and the United States of America. I thank the Korean athletes for their presentation: this has been a display of the commitment to peace, representing the two Koreas together! A message of peace for all of humanity! Thank you! I also offer a prayerful greeting to the Felician Sisters presently celebrating their General Chapter. Upon all of you, and your families, I invoke the joy and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ. God bless you!

Programme for the Pope's visit to Sicily

This morning, the Holy See's Press Centre published the programme for the Holy Father's upcoming Apostolic Voyage (in September) to the Dioceses of Piazza Armerina and Palermo (Sicily) where he will celebrate the 25th anniversary of the death of Blessed Pino Puglisi.

Programme for the Voyage of His Holiness, Pope Francis

to the Dioceses of Piazza Armerina and Palermo

Saturday, 15 September 2018
6:30am
Departure by car from the Casa Santa Marta in the Vatican.

7:00am
Departure of the aircraft from Rome's Ciampino International Airport

7:50am
Arrival at the Catania-Fontanarossa Airport
(This will only be a transit point, there will be no greetings or encounters with the Holy Father)

8:00am
Departure by helicopter from Catania-Fontanarossa Airport for the Piazza Armerina

8:30am
Arrival at the San Ippolito sports field in Piazza Armerina (Enna)
The Holy Father will be greeted by His Excellency, Rosario Gisana, Bishop of Piazza Armerina; by Doctor Maria Rita Leonardi, Prefect of Enna; and by Doctor Filippo Miroddi, Mayor of Piazza Armerina, and then will travel by car to Piazza Europa.

9:00am
In the Piazza Europa, the Holy Father will meet with the faithful.
The gathering will begin with greetings offered by His Excellency, Rosario Gisana, Bishop of Piazza Armerina.
At the conclusion of his speech, the Pope will greet some of the faithful.

10:00am
The Holy Father will greet the authorities who welcomed him upon his arrival and then will leave Piazza Europa and travel by car to the San Ippolito Stadium

10:15am
Departure of the helicopter from the Stadium

10:45am
Arrival in the Port of Palermo
The Holy Father will be greeted by His Excellency, Corrado Lorefice, Archbishop of Palermo; by the Honourable Nello Musumeci, President of the Region of Sicily; by Doctor Antonella De Miro, Prefect of Palermo; and by the Honourable Leoluca Orlando, Mayor of Palermo.

11:45am
At the Foro Italico, the Holy Father will celebrate the mass for the liturgical Memorial of Blessed Pino Puglisi.
At the conclusion of the Eucharistic celebration, greetings will be offered by His Excellency, Corrado Lorefice, Archbishop of Palermo.

1:30pm
The Holy Father will dine at the Missione di Speranza e Carità (Fra Biagio Conte), along with guests of the Mission and a representative group of detainees and immigrants.

3:00pm
The Holy Father will pay a private visit to the Parish of San Gaetano in the Brancaccio neighbourhood, and to the home of Blessed Pino Puglisi.

3:30pm
At the Cathedral of Palermo, the Holy Father will meet with Clergy, Religious and Seminarians

5:00pm
In the Piazza Politeama, the Holy Father will meet with young people

6:30pm
At the Palermo airport, the Holy Father will greet the authorities who welcomed him upon his arrival.
Departure from the Palermo-Punta Raisi Airport.

7:20pm
Arrival at the Ciampino International Airport and transfer by car to the Vatican.

Speaking with Catholic Doctors

At 11:10am this morning (5:10am EDT), in the Hall of the Popes in the Apostolic Palace, the Holy Father, Pope Francis received in audience a delegation from the International Federation of Associations of Catholic Doctors (FIAMC), on the occasion of the upcoming congress which will be held in Zagreb (Croatia) from 30 May to 2 June, and which will focus on the theme: Holiness of life and the medical profession, from Humanae vitae to Laudato si'.

Greetings of the Holy Father, Pope Francis

addressed to Catholic doctors

Dear brothers and sisters,

I am pleased to welcome you and to offer my greetings to all of you, beginning with your President, Doctor John Lee, who I thank for his words.

Your qualifications as Catholic doctors commit you to ongoing spiritual, moral and bioethical formation in order that you might implement the evangelical principles in your medical practice, beginning with the doctor-patient relationship and continuing to the point of including missionary activity in order to improve the health conditions within the populations in every periphery of the world.  Your work is a particular form of human solidarity and Christian witness; in fact, your work is enriched with the spirit of faith.  It is important that your associations should commit themselves to sensitizing all students of medicine as well as young doctors to these principles by involving them in the activities of your associations.

Your Catholic identity does not compromise your collaboration with those who, from different religious perspectives or those who do not have a specific creed, recognize the dignity and the excellency of the human person as the criterion for their activities.  The Church is for life, and her concern is that nothing should be against life in the reality of concrete existence, however weak or defenceless it may be, even if it has not yet been developed or advanced.  Being Catholic doctors, therefore, is to know that you are health workers who based on your faith and your communion with the Church, receive the inspiration to help your own Christian and professional formation to mature, so that your dedication may be untiring and so that you may penetrate even more deeply the laws of nature in order to better know and understand them in order to better serve life (cf Paul VI, Encyclical Letter, Humanae Vitae, 24).

The fidelity and coherence with which the Associations of your Federation, over the years, have kept faith in their Catholic physiognomy, implementing the teaching of the Church and the directives of its Magisterium in the medical-moral field are known. This criterion of recognition and action has fostered your collaboration in the mission of the Church in promoting and defending human life from its conception to its natural end, the quality of existence, respect for the weak, the humanization of medicine and its full socialization.

This fidelity has required and continues to require hardships and difficulties that, in particular circumstances, can demand much courage. Continue with serenity and determination on this path, accompanying the magisterial interventions in the areas of medicine with a corresponding awareness of their moral implications. The field of medicine and health, in fact, has not been spared from the advance of the technocratic cultural paradigm, from the adoration of human power without limits and from practical relativism, in which everything becomes irrelevant if it is not necessary for one's own interests (cf Encyclical Letter, Laudato si ', 122).

Faced with this situation, you are called to affirm the centrality of the patient as a person and to uphold his dignity, including his inalienable rights, primarily the right to life. The tendency to debase the sick man by seeing him as a machine to be repaired, without respect for moral principles, and to exploit the weak by discarding what does not correspond to the ideology of efficiency and profit must be resisted. The defence of the personal dimension of the patient is essential for the humanization of medicine, in the sense also of human ecology. It is your responsibility to work in the respective countries and at international levels, intervening in specialized environments but also in discussions concerning legislation on sensitive ethical issues, such as termination of pregnancy, end-of-life and genetic medicine. Do not lack in solicitude also in defence of freedom of conscience, of doctors and of all health workers. It is not acceptable for your role to be reduced to that of a simple executor of the will of the patient or the needs of the health system in which you work.

In your upcoming congress, which will be held in Zagreb in a few days, you will reflect on the theme: Holiness of life and medical profession, from Humanae vitae to Laudato si '. This too is a sign of your concrete participation in the life and mission of the Church. This participation - as was pointed out by the Second Vatican Council - is so necessary that, without it, the apostolate of Pastors can not for the most part reach its full effectiveness (Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity, Apostolicam Actuositatem, 10). Be more and more aware that today it is necessary and urgent that the action of the Catholic physician presents itself with an unmistakable clarity on the level of personal and associative testimony.

In this regard, it is desirable that the activities of the Associations of Catholic Doctors are interdisciplinary and also involve other ecclesial realities. In particular, know how to harmonize your efforts with those of priests, men and women religious and of all those who work in health pastoral care, putting them together with the people who suffer: they are in great need of you and your contribution. Be ministers, as well as care givers, ministers of fraternal charity, transmitting to those who approach you with the contribution of your knowledge, the wealth of humanity and with evangelical compassion.

Dear brothers and sisters, many look to you and your work. Your words, your gestures, your advice, your choices have an echo that goes beyond the strictly professional field and becomes, if coherent, a testimony of lived faith. The profession thus rises to the dignity of a true apostolate. I encourage you to continue your journey with joy and generosity, in collaboration with all the people and institutions that share the love of life and endeavour to serve it in its dignity and sacredness. May the Virgin Mary, Salus infirmorum, support your intentions, which I accompany with my blessing. And please, pray for me too. Thank you.

Video Message to Pontifical Mission Workers

The Holy Father, Pope Francis has sent a video message to mark the beginning of the work being done at the General Assembly of the Pontifical Mission Societies.  The assembly is taking place this week at the Domus di Sacrofano Fraternity in Rome.

Video Message of the Holy Father, Pope Francis

addressed to Pontifical Mission Societies

Dear brothers and sisters,

With this brief message, I wish to present an important reality for the mission of the Church, but few people know of it: the Pontifical Mission Societies.

From the earliest times, the reciprocal support between local Churches, impregnated with the proclamation and witness of the gospel, has been a sign of the universal Church.  In fact, the Church's mission - which is enlivened by the Spirit of the risen Lord - expands the spaces occupied by faith and charity to the ends of the earth.

In the nineteenth century, the proclamation of Christ received a new impulse when the Mission Societies were founded, with the specific task of praying and acting concretely in order to support evangelization in new territories.  These Societies were recognized as Pontifical by Pope Pius XI, who in that way wished to point out how the mission of the Church toward all people is very much at the heart of the Successor of Peter.  And it still is!  Today, the Pontifical Mission Societies continue this important service that began almost 200 years ago.  They are present in 120 countries with National Directors, coordinated by an International Secretariat that is located at the Holy See.

Why are the Pontifical Mission Societies important?  They are important first of all because we must pray for missionaries, for the evangelizing actions of the Church.  Prayer is the first missionary work - the first one! - which every Christian can and should undertake, and it is also the most efficient, even if it cannot be measured.  In fact, the principal agent of evangelization is the Holy Spirit, and we are called to work with Him.  Moreover, these Societies guarantee in the name of the Pope an equal distribution of aid so that all the Churches throughout the world might have a minimum of assistance for their evangelizing work, for sacraments, for their own priests, for seminarians, for pastoral work and for catechists.  This support helps missionaries who evangelize, above all with prayer, so that the Holy Spirit may be present.  He is the one who does the work of evangelization.

Therefore I encourage everyone to work together in this, our common task of proclaiming the gospel and of supporting the young Churches through the work of these Missionary Societies.  In this way, in every people, the Church continues to open herself to all people and to proclaim joyfully the Good News of Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the world.

Thank you all, with all my heart!

Learning from our Mother

Just back from a two-week Marian pilgrimage through Western Europe, some reflections on our travels help to pave the way for this week's reflection.

Listening for the heartbeat of the Mother

A few days ago, I returned from a wonderful pilgrimage.   During this month, which the Church dedicates every year to our Mother, Mary, my companions and I traveled through Portugal, Spain, France and Italy, all the while listening for the heartbeat of our heavenly Mother and asking her to show us the way to the heart of her son Jesus.

In Portugal, we visited the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima.  We celebrated Mass in that holy place and participated in the candle-light procession.  In Spain, we prayed at the Shrine of Our Lady of the Pillar: the site of the very first Marian apparition that took place along the banks of the Ebro river.  In France, we visited the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes and in Rome, we celebrated Mass in the Basilica of Saint Mary Major. 

Throughout these travels, I placed all of you at the feet of Our Lady and asked her to help all of us to come closer to her son Jesus.  Perhaps it is fitting that today, the Church is celebrating Trinity Sunday.  It was God our Father who created each one of us and who (still today) gives us everything we need to live.  The Book of Deuteronomy reminds us that Moses heard the voice of God speaking out of a fire (Deut 4:33) and that God made Himself known to us by showing us many signs and wonders (Deut 4:34).

Our God has always wanted to share a relationship of love and trust with us.  In the fullness of time, he made himself known to us in the person of Jesus, who we refer to as the second person of the Trinity.  After Jesus had returned to heaven, God sent us the third person of the Trinity: the Holy Spirit.  The Lord still lives among us, constantly urging and encouraging us to grow in our faith and to trust in the love that God has for each of us.

The gospel passage reminds us that the eleven disciples went to Galilee (Mt 28:16) after Jesus had risen from the dead, and when they saw him there, they worshipped him, but some of them still doubted (Mt 28:17).  If even the disciples still doubted, is it any wonder that we find it difficult at times to believe?  Yet, God is still at work among us.  The Holy Spirit constantly encourages our hearts and helps us to believe that we are not alone in this world; that our God is very close to us.

Saint Paul explained to the Christians in Rome that they were all children of God (Rom 8:16), and this is also true for us.  We are all God’s children.  He loves each one of us.  We have the great privilege of having known Him as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and we have a loving Mother: Mary, who is constantly at work, interceding for us and helping us to understand in the depths of our hearts that we are all heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ (Rom 8:17).  

It would be worth our while during the coming week to contemplate this truth.  Ask Mary to help all of us to discover the joy of this truth in our lives.

À l’écoute du rythme cardiaque de notre mère

Il y a quelques jours, je suis revenu d'un merveilleux pèlerinage. Au cours de ce mois que l'Église consacre chaque année à notre Mère, Marie, mes compagnons et moi, nous avons traversé le Portugal, l'Espagne, la France et l'Italie, tout en écoutant le rythme cardiaque de notre Mère céleste tout en lui demandant de nous montrer le chemin vers le cœur de son fils Jésus.

Au Portugal, nous avons visité le Sanctuaire de Notre-Dame de Fatima. Nous avons célébré la messe dans ce lieu saint et nous avons participé à la procession des lumières. En Espagne, nous avons prié au sanctuaire de Notre-Dame du Pilar: le site de la toute première apparition mariale qui a eu lieu le long des rives de l'Èbre. En France, nous avons visité le sanctuaire de Notre-Dame de Lourdes et à Rome, nous avons célébré la messe dans la Basilique Sainte-Marie-Majeure.

Tout au long de ce voyage, je vous ai tous placés aux pieds de Notre-Dame et je lui ai demandé de nous aider tous à nous rapprocher de son fils Jésus. Peut-être convient-il qu'aujourd'hui l'Église célèbre le dimanche de la Trinité. C'est Dieu notre Père qui a créé chacun de nous et qui (encore aujourd’hui) nous donne tout ce dont nous avons besoin pour vivre. Le Livre du Deutéronome nous rappelle le fait que Moïse a entendu la voix de Dieu parlant du milieu du feu (Dt 4,33) et que Dieu s'est fait connaître en nous montrant des signes et des prodiges (Dt 4,34).

Notre Dieu a toujours voulu partager une relation d'amour et de confiance avec nous. Dans la plénitude des temps, il s'est fait connaître dans la personne de Jésus, que nous appelons la deuxième personne de la Trinité. Après que Jésus soit retourné au ciel, Dieu nous a envoyé la troisième personne de la Trinité: le Saint-Esprit. Le Seigneur vit toujours parmi nous, nous exhortant et nous encourageant constamment à grandir dans notre foi et à faire confiance à l'amour que Dieu a pour chacun de nous.

Le passage de l'évangile que nous avons entendu aujourd’hui nous rappelle que les onze disciples s’en allèrent en Galilée (Mt 28.16) après que Jésus soit ressuscité des morts, et quand ils le virent là, ils se prosternèrent, mais certains eurent des doutes (Mt 28.17). Si même les disciples doutaient encore, est-il étonnant que nous trouvions parfois difficile de croire? Pourtant, Dieu est toujours au travail parmi nous. Le Saint-Esprit encourage constamment nos cœurs et nous aide à croire que nous ne sommes pas seuls dans ce monde, que notre Dieu est très proche de nous.

Saint Paul a expliqué aux chrétiens de Rome qu'ils étaient tous des enfants de Dieu (Rom 8:16), et ceci est également vrai pour nous. Nous sommes tous les enfants de Dieu. Il aime chacun de nous. Nous avons le grand privilège de le connaître comme Père, Fils et Saint-Esprit, et nous avons une Mère aimante: Marie, qui est constamment au travail, intercédant pour nous et nous aidant à comprendre au plus profond de notre cœur que nous sommes tous héritiers de Dieu, héritiers avec le Christ (Rom 8:17).

Il vaudrait la peine pendant la semaine prochaine de contempler cette vérité. Demande à Marie de nous aider tous à découvrir la joie de cette vérité dans nos vies.

Angelus for Trinity Sunday

At noon today (6:00am EDT), the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, the Holy Father, Pope Francis appeared at the window of his study in the Vatican Apostolic Palace to recite the Angelus with the faithful and with pilgrims gathered in Saint Peter's Square.

Greetings of the Holy Father, Pope Francis

prior to the recitation of the Angelus

Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!

Today, the Sunday after Pentecost, we celebrate the feast of the Most Holy Trinity.  A feast day for contemplating and praising the mystery of the God of Jesus Christ, who is One in a communion of three Persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.  This is an occasion for celebrating with ever-renewed awe, our God who is Love, who freely offers us his life and asks us to defend his life in the world.

The biblical readings for today help us to understand that God does not just want to reveal to us the fact that He exists, but rather that he is God with us, close to us, that He loves us, that he walks with us, that he is interested in our personal history and that he is taking care of each one of us, beginning with the very smallest of our needs.  He is God up there in the heavens but also down here on earth (cf Deut 4:39).  Therefore, we do not believe in a distant entity, no!  We do not believe in an indifferent entity, no!  But, on the contrary, we believe in Love that created the universe and generated a people, who took on flesh, who died and rose for us, and as the Holy Spirit, transforms everything and leads us to fullness.

Saint Paul (cf Rom 8:14-17), who had first-hand experience of the transforming work of God who is Love, communicates his desire to be called Father, even Daddy - God is Our daddy - with all the confidence of a little child who abandons him- or herself into the embrace of the one who has given life.  The Holy Spirit - the Apostle also recalls - is at work within us so that Jesus Christ is not reduced to a mere passing personality, no, but we feel him close to us, our friend, and we experience the joy of being beloved children of God.  Finally, in the gospel, the risen Lord promises to stay with us forever.  It is truly thanks to his presence and the strength of the Spirit that we can achieve the mission that he has confided to us in a serene manner.  What is this mission?  To proclaim and to bear witness to everyone about his gospel and therefore expand the communion we share with Him and the joy that comes from it.  God, who walks with us, fills us with joy and this joy is the first language of Christians.

Therefore, the feast of the Most Holy Trinity is an occasion for us to contemplate the mystery of God that constantly creates, redeems and sanctifies, always with love and for love, and for every creature who welcomes this gift, He gives us a ray of his beauty, goodness and truth.  He has always chosen to walk with humanity to form a people who are are a blessing for every person, with no exclusions.  A Christian is not an isolated person, belonging to a people: this people who form God.  We cannot be Christians without belonging to Christ, being in communion with Christ.  We are people: the people of God.  The Virgin Mary helps us to joyfully accomplish this mission of bearing witness to the world, which is so thirsty for love, bearing witness to the fact that this sense of life is truly found in infinite love, the concrete love of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.



Following the recitation of the Angelus, the Holy Father continued:

Dear brothers and sisters,

Yesterday in Piacenza Leonella Sgorbati, a Consolata Missionary Sister who was killed for hatred of the faith in Mogadishu (Somalia) in 2006, was proclaimed Blessed.  Her life, spent for the gospel and in service to the poor, as well as her martyrdom, represent a pledge of hope for Africa and for the entire world.  Let us pray together for Africa, that peace may be present there.

Hail Mary ...

Our Lady of Africa, pray for us.

I greet all of you, dear Romans and pilgrims: families, parish groups, associations.  In particular, I greet the faithful from Porto Sant'Elpidio, Naples, Bruzzano di Milano, Padua, the choir from Sappada and the youth choir from Vezza d'Alba.  You sang very beautifully yesterday in Saint Peter's, congratulations!  I greet the Polish pilgrims and I bless those who are participating in the great pilgrimage to the Marian Shrine of Piekari Slaskie.

On the occasion of the Day of Relief, I greet those who are gathered at the Gemelli Policlinic to promote solidarity with people who are suffering from serious illnesses.  I urge everyone to recognize the spiritual needs of sick people and to be close to them with great tenderness.

I wish you all a good Sunday.  Please, don't forget to pray for me.  Enjoy your lunch and good bye!

Video greetings to young people in Argentina

The Holy Father, Pope Francis has sent a Video Message to young boys and girls who are participating in the II National Youth Encounter, taking place from 25 to 27 May in Rosario (Argentina), focused on the theme: With you, we renew history.

Video Message of His Holiness, Pope Francis

addressed to young boys and girls in Argentina

Dear boys and girls:

I am happy to be present through this video message at this National Meeting of Youth that you are experiencing in Rosario. I was asked to address you by my brother bishops, and I do it with pleasure.

I know that they have put forward a lot of effort and prepared in many ways to be there. Thank you for all that work, for setting out with joy, with faith and hope, with shared hopes. When you go to a meeting of young people there is always faith, hope, illusions that are shared there and growth. Thank you for the enthusiasm that they spread - where there are young people there is trouble - for the love towards Christ and their brothers and sisters, which in these days is surely going to increase! But that is not smoke, that is not just smoke. Let it be soap that foams up, but make soap.

When I thought about you and what I could share with you for this meeting, three words occurred to me: presence, communion and mission.

The first word is presence. Jesus is with us, he is present in our history. If we do not convince ourselves of this, we are not Christians. He walks with us, even if we do not know him. Think of the disciples on the road to Emmaus. Jesus has become our brother, he also invites us to incarnate ourselves, to build together that beautiful world, the civilization of love, as disciples and missionaries of his, here and now: at home, with your friends, in situations that you live daily. For that, it is necessary to be with him, to meet him in prayer, in the Word, in the sacraments. Dedicate time, spend time in silence so you can hear his voice. Do you know how to create silence in your heart to listen to the voice of Jesus? Is not easy. Try.

He is with you, although perhaps in some moments you feel like the disciples of Emmaus before they met the risen Jesus: you feel sad, disappointed, downcast, without much hope that things will change. And well, you see everything in life, that sometimes, of course, we feel downcast. You get hurt by the way, and it seems that you can not go on anymore, that the contradictions are stronger than all the positive, all the effort that you want to put, that you do not see the light at the end of the tunnel. But when you meet Jesus - it's a grace - the good Samaritan who comes to help you, that Jesus, everything is renewed, you renew yourself and you can renew the story with Jesus. Hey father, do not exaggerate, how are we going to renew the story? You can renew the story. It was renewed by a girl of sixteen who in Nazareth said yes.

The good Samaritan is Christ who approaches the poor, who needs him. The good Samaritan is also you when, like Christ, you approach the one next to you, and in him you know how to discover the face of Christ. It is a path of love and mercy: Jesus finds us, heals us, he sends us to heal others. He sends us to heal others. It is only permissible to look at a person from top to bottom, from above, only to bend down and help them get up. If not, we have no right to look at anyone from above. Nothing with the little nose like that, huh? If I look from above it is to bend and help lift.

But to travel this path of helping to raise others, let us not forget, we need personal encounters with Jesus, moments of prayer, adoration and, above all, listening to the Word of God. I ask you just this: How many of you read the Gospel during the day, even just for two minutes? Two minutes, huh! You have a little Bible, you carry it in your pocket, in your wallet ... While you are on the bus, while you are on the subway, on the train or you stop and sit at home, you open it and read it for two minutes. Try and you will see how your life changes. Why? Because you meet Jesus. You meet the Word.

The second word is communion . We are not alone writing history; some people believed it, they think that alone or with their plans they will build history. We are a people and history is built by peoples, not ideologists. The peoples are the protagonists of history. We are a community, we are a Church. And if you want to grow as a Christian you have to do it in the midst of the people of God, in the Church, as a people. Not in a small or stylized group, separated from the life of the people of God. The people of God are the Church, with all the people of good will, with their children, their great ones, their sick, their healthy, their sinners, all of us! With Jesus, the Virgin, the Saints who accompany us. Walk through your town. Build a village history. Jesus is counting on you and you also can count on him, with him, with all of us, with each one. We know that as a Church we are in a very special time, in the year of the Synod of Bishops that is going to deal with the theme of young people. You young people will be the object of the reflections of this Synod. And also, we will receive from you the contributions, either from the pre-synodal assembly that took place in Rome, with 350 boys and girls from all over the world: Christians, non-Christians and non-believers, in which 15,000 participated through social networks, communicating with them. They have made a proposal, for a week they studied: fighting, arguing, laughing. And that contribution has reached us at the Synod. And there you are. With that contribution we go forward.

I invite you to be participants, protagonists from the heart of this important ecclesial event. Do not stay on the sidelines, commit yourself, say what you think. Do not be exclusive: That he looked at me, that he touched me, that if he thinks differently, that I do not agree with what you think. How do you live? I share what you live! The Pope wants to hear them. The Pope wants to dialogue and seek together new ways of meeting, that renew our faith and revitalize our evangelizing mission.

You know better than me that computers, cell phones need updates to work better. Our pastoral activity also needs to be updated, renewed, revise the connection with Christ in the light of the Gospel - that which you are going to carry in your pocket and you will read for two minutes a day - looking at the world today, discerning and giving new energies to the shared mission that is the work that you are going to have these days, above all, and that I accompany with my closeness and my prayer. And my sympathy.

We said, then, presence and communion. The third word is mission. We are called to be Church on the way out, on mission. A missionary Church, not enclosed in our comforts and schemes, but go out to meet the other. A Samaritan Church, merciful, in an attitude of dialogue, of listening. Jesus calls us, sends us and accompanies us to get closer to all the men and women of today. This is what we will hear on Sunday in the Gospel: Go and make all the nations my disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit ... And I am with you until the end of the world ( Mt 28:19-20). Go, do not be afraid! Young people have the strength of restlessness, of nonconformity - be nonconformist - make a mess, do not let the story be written outside, while looking out the window, do not waste your life, put on your shoes, go out, with the shirt of Christ and play for his ideals. Go with him to heal the wounds of so many of our brothers who are lying on the edge of the road, go with him to sow hope in our towns and cities, go with him to renew history.

Many times you have heard that you are the future, in this case the future of the country. The future is in your hands, right, because we are with you, keep going. But beware: seek out a solid future, a fruitful future, a future that has roots. Some dream of a utopian future: No, history has passed, no, not before, now begins. Now nothing starts. Bernárdez, our poet, ends a verse saying: «What the tree has of flower lives on what it has buried». Go back to the roots and build your future from the roots where the sap comes from: you do not deny the history of your country, you do not deny the history of your family, do not deny your grandparents. Search the roots, look for history. And from there I built the future. And those who tell you: That if the national heroes have passed or that it does not make sense, that now everything starts again ... Laugh at their faces, they are clowns of history.

And I invite you also to look during days to Mary, the Virgin of the Rosary, who knew how to be close to her Son accompanying him in his mysteries of joy and pain, light and glory. May she, Mary, Mother of closeness and tenderness, Lady of the open heart and always available to meet those who need her, be your teacher in the model of the life of faith. You look there, and she will teach you.

May Jesus bless you, may the Holy Virgin take care of you, your families, your communities. And, please, do not forget to pray for me, so that you know how to transmit the roots to the new generations that will make them flourish in the future. Thank you!
(Original text in Spanish)

Greetings for the Centesimus Annus Pro Pontifice Foundation

At 10:30am this morning (4:30am EDT) in the Sala Regia at the Vatican Apostolic Palace, His All-Holiness, Patriarch Bartholomew addressed the members of the Centesimus Annus - Pro Pontifice Foundation.  His All-Holiness is in Rome to participate in the 25th anniversary International Convention which concluded today.

• Address of His All-Holiness, Patriarch Bartholomew to the members of the Centesimus Annus - Pro Pontifice Foundation

At 11:30am this morning (5:30am EDT) the Holy Father, Pope Francis arrived in the Sala Regia and received in audience the members of the Centesimus Annus - Pro Pontifice Foundation.

Greetings of the Holy Father, Pope Francis

offered to members of the

Centesimus Annus - Pro Pontifice Foundation

Dear friends,

I greet all of you gathered for the 2018 International Conference of the Centesimus Annus Pro Pontifice Foundation. In a particular way, in this, the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Foundation’s establishment by Saint John Paul II, I express my gratitude for your work in making known the wisdom of the Church’s social teaching with those involved in the business and economic sectors of civil society. After a quarter-century, this task remains more necessary than ever, as the social and financial challenges faced by the international community have become increasingly complex and interrelated.

The current difficulties and crises within the global economic system have an undeniable ethical dimension: they are related to a mentality of egoism and exclusion that has effectively created a culture of waste that is blind to the human dignity of the most vulnerable. We see this in the growing globalization of indifference before obvious moral challenges confronting our human family. I think especially of the manifold obstacles to the integral human development of so many of our brothers and sisters, not only in materially poorer countries but increasingly amid the opulence of the developed world. I think too of the urgent ethical issues associated with global movements of migration.

Your Foundation has a vital role to play in bringing the light of the Gospel message to these pressing humanitarian concerns, and in assisting the Church to carry out this essential aspect of her mission. By continuing to engage with business and finance leaders, as well as union officials and others in the public sector, you seek to ensure that the intrinsic social dimension of all economic activity is adequately safeguarded and effectively promoted.

All too often, a tragic and false dichotomy – analogous to the artificial rift between science and faith – has developed between the ethical teachings of our religious traditions and the practical concerns of today’s business community. But there is a natural circularity between profit and social responsibility. There is in fact an indissoluble connection … between an ethics respectful of persons and the common good, and the actual functionality of every economic financial system (Oeconomicae et pecuniariae quaestiones, 17 May 2018, 23). In a word, the ethical dimension of social and economic interaction cannot be imported into social life and activity from without, but must arise from within. This is, of course, a long-term goal requiring the commitment of all persons and institutions within society.

Your Conference has chosen for its title this year New Policies and Life-Styles in the Digital Age. One of the challenges linked to this theme is the threat families are facing from uncertain job opportunities and the impact of the digital cultural revolution. As the preparation process for this year’s Synod on Young People has made clear, this is a vital area in which the solidarity of the Church is actively needed. Your own contribution is a privileged expression of the Church’s concern for the future of young people and families. Indeed this is an activity where ecumenical cooperation is of special importance and the presence of Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople at your Conference is an eloquent sign of this common responsibility.

Dear friends, by sharing your own knowledge and expertise, and by making known the richness of the Church’s social doctrine, you seek to form the consciences of leaders in the political, social and economic sectors. I encourage you to persevere in these efforts which contribute to the building of a global culture of economic justice, equality and inclusion. With gratitude and appreciation for what you have already accomplished, I prayerfully entrust your future commitment to the providence of Almighty God. Upon you, your colleagues and your families I willingly invoke an abundance of the Lord’s blessings.

Mercy Fridays continue

At 4:00pm local time (10:00am EDT) this afternoon, continuing the established tradition of Mercy Friday visits, the Holy Father, Pope Francis, along with His Excellency, Rino Risichella, President of the Pontifical Council for the New Evangelization, paid a visit to the Elisa Scala Comprehensive Institute in Rome, a state school located in the south-eastern peripheries of the Capital, between the Borgata Binocchio and the Borghesiana.

The Elisa Scala Comprehensive Institute was created in the 1950s; in light of the increasing demographics in that area of the city, beginning in the 1970s, the Institute grew to include four more buildings which are spread throughout the areas of Borghesiana and Finocchio, between via di Rocca Cencia, via di Motta Camastra and via Roccaforte del Greco.

The Holy Father visited the headquarters of the Institute located on the via Nicotera.  Upon his arrival, the Pope was welcomed by the school's Director, Professor Claudia Gentili and by hundreds of boys and girls who were present at the Institute carrying out various afternoon activities.

Professor Gentili had the opportunity to tell Pope Francis about the history of the Institute which, since October 2015, has been linked to the Scala family whose daughter - little Elisa - while attending the first grade at the then Comprehensive Institute of Via Rocca Camestra, died tragically due to a severe case of leukemia at the age of 11 years.  Eliza was a very lively and determined child who spoke from time to time with her father and mother about her passion for books and libraries.  When she died, it seemed natural for her parents to propose to the school that her dream should come to pass: a room filled with books that could be visited by all children.  A few months later, in December 2015, the Elisa Library was founded, a space that could be filled with books.  Subsequently, the the Give a book for Elisa initiative was launched by her father Giorgio and her mother Maria, inviting all those who wished to contribute small donations of books to the Elisa Library.  Thousands of books were collected, in various languages, and each one was dedicated to Elisa.  Today there are more than 20,000 volumes which have been shipped from all regions of Italy, from Europe and even from Australia; these books are now circulating among the public libraries in Rome.  Only a few months ago, the Institute got the go-ahead from the city of Rome and from the Ministry of Education to name the school after little Elisa.

During his visit, the Pope met with Elisa's parents who were very moved as they showed him the various rooms of the library.  The Holy Father spent a few moments with them and donated a few books to the library, all of them dedicated to Elisa.

The children sang some songs to express the climate of joy and welcome that was brought about by the Holy Father's unplanned visit.  After having greeted the headmaster, the teachers, the school staff, the parents and the children, the Pope returned to Casa Santa Marta.

Meeting with the Roman Police

At noon today (6:00am EDT), in the Paul VI Hall, the Holy Father, Pope Francis received in audience the Management and Staff of the Rome Police Headquarters and the Central Health Directors from the Department of Public Security, along with members of their families.  Also in attendance were family members of victims of terrorism and of those who have fallen in the line of duty.

Greetings of the Holy Father, Pope Francis

offered to the Police and Public Security officials of Rome

Mister Police Chief,
Distinguished Authorities,
Dear family members of victims of terrorism and those who have died in the line of duty,
Dear staff members, Agents, civic personnel and members of the State Police,

I welcome you and thank the Chief of Police for his words.  To him and to all of you, I renew the expression of my gratitude toward the State Police for the service that you render to the Pope and to the Church.

When your Chaplain asked me for an audience for the personnel and the State Police of Rome and the Central Health Directorate of the Department of Public Security along with the members of your families, I immediately agreed.  Meeting you, along with your children, your wives, your husbands and your parents gives me great joy!  Looking you in the eyes, shaking hands with you, embracing your children is a joy for our hearts, it brings us closer together and unites us in praise and thanksgiving to the Lord.  Thank you for coming with your families, thank you!

The family is the first community where we teach and where we learn to love.  It is a privileged environment in which we also teach and learn faith, we learn to do good.  These things, faith, love, doing good, are only learned in dialect, in the dialect of the family.  The good health of the family is essential for the future of the world and of the Church, especially considering the many challenges and difficulties that are present in everyday life.  In fact, when we encounter a bitter reality, when we feel pain, when the experience of evil or violence appears, it is within the family, within that communion of life and love that everything can be understood and overcome.

The family, like every human reality, is a sign of suffering; many pages of the bible attest to this fact: fratricidal violence between Cain and Abel; fighting between the children and the wives of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the tragedies that David suffers; the suffering of Tobit; the pain experienced by Job.  Even the life of the Holy Family was filled with painful contradictions like the flight of Mary and Joseph who were exiled into Egypt with the child Jesus.  Mary meditated upon all these experiences in her heart; and Jesus, the Son of God and the son of Mary, also saw, heard, suffered and rejoiced, experienced in his own heart the changes experienced by the people he encountered: Peter's mother-in-law who was sick in bed, Martha and Mary who were crying at the death of their brother Lazarus, the widow of Nain who had lost her only son, the centurion who was saddened by the grave illness of someone who was dear to him ... Jesus is always able to comfort those who implore his help or who are crying unconsolably.

Following the example of Jesus, the Church too, on her daily journey, knows the anxieties and the tensions experienced by families, inter-generational conflicts, domestic violence, economic difficulties, precarious working conditions ... Reflecting day after day on the gospel, the Church is led by the Holy Spirit and remains close to families, as a companion on the journey, above all for those who are experiencing crises or living in pain, and the Church also points out the final goal, where pain and death will disappear forever.

Along the path of life, Jesus never abandons us: He follows and accompanies all human beings with great mercy; in a special way, he is close to families who he sanctifies in love.  His presence is made manifest in tenderness, caresses, the embrace of a mother, of a father, of a child.  The family is the place for tenderness.  Please, never lose your tenderness!  This time in history is sorely lacking in tenderness, it needs to be rediscovered, and the family can help us to do this now.  It is for this reason that in the Scriptures, God shows himself as a father but also as a mother who takes care of us, but one who also bends over us in order to suckle us and feed us.

The Church, as a loving mother, teaches us to remain firmly rooted in God, the God who loves us and supports us.  Based on this interior and fundamental experience, it is possible for us to continue despite the many contrary occurrences and vicissitudes of life, the world's aggression, infidelity and our own weaknesses as well as those of others.  Only by beginning with a solid interior experience can we be holy and healthy in the perseverance of goodness, which through the grace of God conquers all evil.

Faith too is handed on in the context of a family.  In the context of our families, we learn how to pray: humble prayers, simple and at the same time open to hope, accompanied by joy, real joy that comes from harmony between people, from the beauty of being together and supporting one another on the journey of life, all the while being aware of our limits.

The era in which we live is characterized by profound change.  You continually experience this change in your work, both in surveys and in the streets, especially in cities such as Rome.  Your experience of family life helps you in this task too, for it gives you human equilibrium, wisdom, and values as points of reference.  A good family also passes on civic values, teaches others to feel that they are part of the social fabric, to feel and act as responsible citizens.  A nation cannot stand if families do not fulfill this task.  The first civic education we receive - is learned in the dialect of the family.

Dear brothers and sisters, I thank you for this visit and I accompany you with my grateful remembrance in prayer.  May the Family of Nazareth and Saint Michael the Archangel, your Patron, help all your families and the great family of the State Police.  Thank you!

Let us pray to Our Lady, our Mother, asking her to bless all the police officers, their families and to help them to keep moving forward, meekly and tenderly.

Hail Mary and blessing

General Audience on Christian witness

This morning's General Audience began at 9:25am (3:25am EDT) in Saint Peter's Square, where the Holy Father, Pope Francis met with groups of pilgrims and the faithful from Italy and from every corner of the world, including a group of 35 Canadian pilgrims who were completing a Marian pilgrimage through Europe.

In his speech, the Pope began a new cycle of catechesis on the Sacrament of Confirmation, focusing his meditation on Christian witness (The biblical passage that was read aloud before His Holiness' catechesis was taken from the gospel of Saint Luke 4:16-18).

After having summarized his catechesis in various languages, the Holy Father offered particular greetings to each group of the faithful in attendance.  He then issued a call, inviting all people to pray for the Catholics in China.

The General Audience concluded with the chanting of the Pater Noster and the Apostolic blessing.

Catechesis of the Holy Father, Pope Francis

for the General Audience

Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!

After the catecheses on Baptism, these days that follow the Solemnity of Pentecost invite us to reflect on the witness that the Spirit awakens in the baptized, putting their lives in motion and opening their lives to the good of others.  Jesus entrusted a great mission to his disciples: You are the salt of the earth, you are the light of the world (cf Mt 5:13-16).  These are images that make us think about our behaviour because both too little salt and too much salt make food unpalatable, just as a lack of light or excessive light can hinder us from seeing.  Who can truly help us to add just enough salt to make our faith flavourful and to preserve us from corruption, and who can help us to add just enough light so that we can enlighten the world?  Only the Spirit of Christ!  And this is the gift we receive in the Sacrament of Confirmation or Chrism.  I want to stop for a moment to reflect with you about this Sacrament.  It is called Confirmation because it confirms our Baptism and strengthens its graces (cf Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1289); it is also referred to as the Sacrament of Chrism, because of the fact that we receive the Spirit through the anointing with chrism - oil that has been mixed with perfume and consecrated by the Bishop - a term that refers to Christ, the One who has been Anointed by the Spirit.

Being reborn to divine life in Baptism is the first step; it happens and then we must behave as children of God, conforming ourselves to Christ who is at work in the Church by involving ourselves in his mission in the world.  This is what the anointing with the Holy Spirit provides: without his strength, nothing exists within us (cf Pentecost Sequence).  Without the strength of the Holy Spirit we cannot do anything: it is the Spirit that gives us the strength to go on.  Just as the life of Jesus was enlivened by the Spirit, so too, the life of the Church and of every one of her members is guided by this same Spirit.

Conceived by the Virgin through the work of the Holy Spirit, Jesus undertook his mission after having come out of the waters of the Jordan.  He was consecrated by the Spirit, who descended and remained upon Him (cf Mk 1:10; Jn 1:32).  He explicitly declared this truth in the Synagogue in Nazareth: it is beautiful how Jesus presents himself, the identity card that Jesus presents in the synagogue in Nazareth!  Let us listen to how he does it: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me; he has consecrated me with an anointing and has sent me to bring good news to the poor (Lk 4:18).  Jesus presented himself in the synagogue in his own village as the Anointed One, the One who was anointed by the Spirit.

Jesus is filled with the Holy Spirit; he is the font of the Spirit promised by the Father (cf Jn 15:26; Lk 24:49; Acts 1:8; 2:33).  In reality, on the evening of Easter Sunday, the Risen One breathed upon his disciples and said to them: Receive the Holy Spirit (Jn 20:22); and on the day of Pentecost, the strength of the Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles in an extraordinary way (cf Acts 2:1-4), as we know.

The Breath of the Risen Christ fills the lungs of the Church with life; and indeed the mouths of the disciples, filled with the Holy Spirit, were opened to proclaim the great works of God to all people (cf Acts 2:1-11).

Pentecost - which we celebrated last Sunday - is for the Church the anointing which Jesus received at the Jordan river, which is to say that Pentecost is the missionary motivation for us to give our entire lives for the sanctification of mankind, to the glory of God.  If the Spirit is at work in every sacrament, it is especially at work in a specific way in Confirmation which the faithful receive as a Gift from the Holy Spirit (Paul VI, Divinae consortium naturae).  And at the moment of the anointing, the Bishop says these words: Receive the Holy Spirit who is given to you as a gift: this is the great gift of the Lord, the Holy Spirit.  And we all have the Spirit within us.  The Spirit is in our hearts, in our souls.  The Spirit guides us in life so that we can become salt and light for mankind.

If in Baptism, it is the Holy Spirit who immerses us in Christ, in Confirmation, it is Christ who fills us with his spirit, consecrating us as his witnesses, partakers with him in the same principle of life and the same mission, according to he plan of our heavenly Father.  The testimony given by those who have been Confirmed demonstrates the fact that we have received the Holy Spirit and that we are docile to his creative inspiration.  I wonder: how can we be sure that we have received the Gift of the Spirit?  If we perform the works of the Spirit, if we speak words that we have learned from the Spirit (cf 1 Cor 2:13).  Christian witness consists in doing all that, and only that which the Spirit of Christ asks of us, while He himself grants us the strength we need to do what he asks of us.



The Holy Father's catechesis was then summarized in French, English, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic, Polish and Ukrainian.  To English-speaking pilgrims present at this week's General Audience, he said:

Sintesi della catechesi e saluti nelle diverse lingue

I greet the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors taking part in today’s Audience, particularly those from England, Wales, Ireland, India, Philippines, Russia, Vietnam, Canada and the United States of America.

In the continuing joy of our celebration of Pentecost, I invoke upon you and your families a rich outpouring of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. May the Lord bless you all!

At the conclusion of the General Audience, the Holy Father said the following:

Tomorrow, 24 May, is the annual feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary Help of Christians, who is particularly venerated in the Shrine at Sheshan, near Shanghai in China.

This anniversary invites us to be spiritually united with all the Catholic faithful who are living in China.  We pray to Our Lady for them, so that they may live their faith with generosity and sincerity, and so that they may be able to carry out concrete gestures of fraternity, concord and reconciliation in full communion with the Successor of Peter.

Beloved disciples of the Lord in China, the universal Church is praying with you and for you, that even in the midst of difficulties, you may continue to entrust yourselves to God's will.  May Our Lady never fail to help you and to care for you with her motherly love.

General Audience on rebirth in Baptism

This morning's General Audience began at 9:20am local time (3:20am EDT) in Saint Peter's Basilica where the Holy Father, Pope Francis met with groups of pilgrims and the faithful from Italy and from all corners of the world.

In his speech, the Pope added his meditation on Baptism 5: Re-creation (Letter of Saint Paul to the Romans 6:4).

After summarizing his catechesis in various languages, the Holy Father offered greetings to each group of the faithful in attendance.

The General Audience concluded with the chanting of the Pater Noster and the Apostolic blessing.

Catechesis of the Holy Father, Pope Francis

for the General Audience

Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!

The catechesis about the sacrament of Baptism leads us to speak today about the holy lavacro (washing) accompanied by the invocation of the Holy Trinity, which is the central rite that specifically baptizes - which is to say immerses us - in the Paschal mystery of Christ (cf Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1239).  Saint Paul reminds the Christians in Rome about the meaning of this gesture; he begins by asking: Do you not know that when we were baptized, we were buried together with him in death so that, as Christ was raised from the dead, we too can walk in a newness of life (Rom 6:4).  Baptism opens the door to a life of resurrection, not to a worldly life.  A life according to Jesus.

The baptismal font is the place where we celebrate Easter with Christ!  The old man is buried, with his deceitful passions (cf Eph 4:22), so that a new creature can be born; truly, old things have passed and new things are born (cf 2 Cor 5:17).  In the Catechesis attributed to Saint Cyril of Jerusalem, the newly-baptized receive explanations about what happened to them in the waters of Baptism.  Saint Cyril's explanation is beautiful: At the same instant you died and were born, and the same wave of greeting became for you both a tomb and a mother (n. 20, Mystagogia, 2, 4-6; PG 33, 1079-1082).  The rebirth of the new man demands that the man who is corrupted by sin be reduced to dust.  The images of the tom and of te maternal womb used to describe the font are in fact very incisive to express great truths that take place through the simple gestures of Baptism.  I like to cite the inscription that is found in the ancient Roman Baptistry at the Lateran, in which we read, in Latin, an expression attributed to Pope Sixtus III: The Mother Church gives birth to virginity and conceives of her children through the breath of God.  Those who have been born again from this font now look forward to the kingdom of heaven (Virgineo fetu genitrix Ecclesia natos / quos spirante Deo concipit amne parit. / Caelorum regnum sperate hoc fonte renati).  This is beautiful: the Church which brings us to birth, the Church that is a womb, is our mother through Baptism.

If our parents have given us earthly life, the Church has granted us rebirth into eternal life through Baptism.  We have become children in his Son Jesus (cf Rom 8:15; Gal 4:5-7).  Over all of us too, who have been reborn in water and the Holy Spirit, our heavenly Father's voice resounds with infinite love, saying: You are my beloved son (cf Mt 3:17).  This paternal voice, which is imperceptible to our ears but audible to the hearts of those who believe, accompanies us throughout our entire lives; it never abandons us.  Throughout our entire lives, the Father says to us: You are my beloved son, you are my beloved daughter.  God loves us so much, like a Father, and he never leaves us alone.  This is true from the moment of our Baptism.  Reborn as children of God, we are his children forever!  In fact, Baptism is never repeated, because we have been marked with an indelible spiritual seal: This seal can never be wiped out by any sin, although sin prevents Baptism from bringing forth the fruits of salvation (Catechism, 1272).  The seal of Baptism can never be lost!  But father, if a person becomes a criminal, even a notorious one, who kills people, who brings about injustice, can the seal be broken?  No.  It is to his own shame that the son of God who is that man carries out such acts, but the seal never goes away.  He continues in perpetuity to be a son of God, who goes against God but who God will never renounce, for God never denies his children.  Have you understood this last part?  God will never deny his children.  Can we repeat this together? God will never deny his children.  A little bit louder, so that I - I am a bit deaf - can hear you (they repeat more loudly) God will never deny his children.  There, very good.

Made one in Christ through Baptism, those who are baptized are therefore conformed to Him: the first-born among many (Rom 8:29).  Through the action of the Holy Spirit, Baptism purifies, sanctifies, justifies, in order to form in Christ, one body out of many (cf 1 Cor 6:11-13).  This is expressed in the anointing with the Oil of Chrism: a sign of the royal priesthood of the baptized and of the inclusion of the newly baptized into the community of the people of God (Rite of Baptism of Children, Introduction, n. 18, 3).  Therefore, using the sacred Chrism, the priest anoints the head of the person who is baptized, after having spoken the words that explain its significance: God himself consecrates you with the chrism of salvation, so that as a part of Christ, the priest, prophet and king, you may be a member of his body for eternal life (Rite of Baptism of Children, n. 71).

Brothers and sisters, the Christian vocation is entirely here present: life united to Christ in the holy Church, participating in the same consecration in order to carry out the same mission, in this world, bearing fruit that will last forever.  In fact, enlivened by the same Spirit, the entire People of God participate in the work of Jesus Christ, Priest, Prophet and King, and bear the responsibility for the mission and service that derive from them (cf Catechism, 783-786).  What does it mean to participate in the royal and prophetic priesthood of Christ?  It means making ourselves a pleasing offering to God (cf Rom 12:1), testifying to him through a life of faith and charity (cf Lumen gentium, 12), placing ourselves at the service of others, following the example of the Lord Jesus (cf Mt 20:25-28; Jn 13:13-17).  Thank you.



The Holy Father's catechesis was then summarized in various languages and he offered greetings to each group of the faithful in attendance.  To the English-speaking pilgrims, he said:

I greet the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors taking part in today’s Audience, particularly those from England, Finland, Indonesia, the Philippines, Canada and the United States of America. In a special way, I greet the “small farmers” from various countries meeting in Italy, with gratitude for their contribution to feeding our world. In the joy of the Risen Christ, I invoke upon you and your families the loving mercy of God our Father. May the Lord bless you all!

Synod of Bishops at work

Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri

From 7 to 8 May 2018, the fourth meeting of the XIV Ordinary Council of the General Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops took place, presided over by the Holy Father, Pope Francis.

The work began with a presentation by the Secretary General of the Synod, His Eminence, Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri.  In his greetings, His Eminence thanked His Holiness for his presence and retraced the journey that has been undertaken in preparation for the XV Ordinary General Assembly.  In particular, the Secretary General focused on the preparation of the draft copy of the Instrumentum laboris, which was developed in collaboration with a group of experts who gathered material which was offered from five sources: responses to the Questionnaire at the end of the Preparatory Document by those Organizations who had the right to submit their answers; responses to the Questionnaire which were received online from youth; the proceedings from the International Seminar on the situation of young people held in September 2017; the observations that were freely submitted by individuals and groups; and the final Document from the Pre-synodal Meeting which was held from 19 to 24 March 2018.  Cardinal Baldisseri referred to this event, pointing out the lively participation of the young people who had come from many parts of the world to represent various ecclesial and extra-ecclesial realities.

Following the Secretary General's remarks, the draft of the Instrumentum laboris was presented; this was the main focus of the meeting.  The text generated an interesting exchange of opinions in the form of suggestions and observations which were incorporated in the document, in order to furnish the Synod Fathers with a more adequate instrument for their discussions in the Synod Hall.  The amended text was approved by all the participants.

The members of the Ordinary Council discussed some organizational matters and criteria for the Synod of Bishops and for the upcoming Ordinary General Assembly.  A presentation on these matters, which was made by His Excellency, Fabio Fabene, Under-secretary of the Synod of Bishops was followed by a fruitful exchange of opinions.

Finally, the Holy Father thanked the members of the Council and the participants for their contributions and for the spirit of fraternal communion in which the meeting had taken place.

A special visit

On Friday of this week (11 May), Metropolitan Rastislav, Archbishop of Prešov, Primate of the Orthodox Church of the Czech territory and of Slovakia will visit the Holy Father at the Vatican.  This is the first time that this Metropolitan will visit with Pope Francis since his election in January 2014.

During his stay in Rome, from 9 to 12 May, the Metropolitan will meet with His Eminence, Kurt Koch, President of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity.  The Metropolitan will also celebrate the Divine Liturgy at the tomb of Saint Cyril inside the Basilica of San Clemente.

The Orthodox Church of the Czech territory and of Slovakia is one of the 14 independent Orthodox Churches who belong to the Byzantine tradition, which traces its roots to the great evangelization of Greater Moravia by Saints Cyril and Methodius.

Video Message to Buenos Aires

The Holy Father, Pope Francis has sent a video message to those who are participating in the second International Forum on Modern Slavery, organized by the Ecumenical Patriarch, Bartholomew I, Archbishop of Constantinople in collaboration with the Archdiocese of Buenos Aires (Argentina) and with the Patriarch Athenagoras Orthodov Institute in Berkeley (California, USA).  The Forum, which is focused on the theme: Old problems in the new world, is taking place from 5 to 8 May at the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Buenos Aires.

Video Message of His Holiness, Pope Francis

addressed to participants taking part in the

International Forum on Modern Slavery

Dear brothers and sisters,

I welcomed your invitation to send a greeting to you who are participating in this Forum on the modern forms of slavery: Old problems in the new world, organized by the Orthodox Archdiocese of Buenos Aires, which is guided by the beloved Metropolitan Tarasios, and by the Orthodox Atenágoras Patriarchate of Berkeley (California) under the patronage of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.  First of all, I express my heartfelt gratitude to the Ecumenical Patriarch, His Holiness, Bartholomew I, and to the Archbishop of Canterbury, His Grace, Justin Welby who inaugurated this Forum last year.  It comforts me to know that we share the same preoccupation for the victims of modern slavery.

Slavery is not a phenomenon that belongs to former times.  It is a practice that has deep roots, one that is still practiced today in many various forms: trafficking of human beings, exploitation of work through debt, exploitation of children, sexual exploitation and forced domestic work are some of the many forms.  Each one is more serious and inhuman than the others.  Despite the lack of information available to us from some regions of the world, the figures are dramatically elevated and, most likely, underestimated.  According to some recent statistics, there are more than 40 million people, men, but above all women and children, who suffer from slavery.  Simply to give us an idea, we can think that if all those people lived in a single city, it would be the largest metropolis on our planet and it would contain - more or less - four times the population of the entire urban area of Buenos Ares including greater Buenos Aires.

Faced with this tragic reality, none of us can wash our hands if we do not want to be seen, in some way or another, as an accomplice to this crime against humanity.  The first task that is imposed is that of putting into action a strategy that will allow for the spreading of greater knowledge about the subject, tearing the veil of indifference that seems to cover the fate of this portion of humanity that suffers, that is suffering.  It seems that many do not wish to understand the extent of the problem.  There are some who, since they are directly involved in criminal organizations, do not want to be spoken about, simply because they derive high levels of profit from these new forms of slavery.  There are also some who, even though they know the problem, do not wish to speak because that is where the chain of consumption ends, as a consumer of the services offered by men, women and children who have been turned into slaves.  We cannot afford to be distracted: we are all being called to move away from any form of hypocrisy and to face the reality that we are part of the problem.  The problem is not in the opposing lane: it involves me.  We are not allowed to look away and to declare your ignorance or our innocence.

A second great task is to act in favour of those who are converted into slaves:  to defend their rights, to prevent those who are corrupt and criminals alike from escaping justice and from having the final word about exploited persons.  It is not enough for just some States and International Organizations to adopt a particularly harsh policy in order to punish the exploitation of human beings, if afterwards, the root causes are not addressed, the deepest roots of the problem.  When countries suffer extreme poverty, suffer violence and corruption, neither the economy nor the legislative framework nor the most basic of infrastructures are effective; they fail to guarantee essential security, assets or rights.  In this way, it is much easier for the perpetrators of these crimes to continue acting with total impunity.  In addition, there is a sociological fact: proponents of organized crime and illegal trafficking of human beings choose their victims from among persons who have little means of subsistence and even less hope for the future.  To be even clearer: they are among those who are the poorest, the most neglected, the most discarded.  The basic response lies in creating opportunities for integral human development, starting with quality education: this is the key point, quality education from early childhood, in order to continue creating new opportunities for growth through employment.  Education and employment.

This is immense work, which requires courage, patience and perseverance; it requires a common and global effort on the part of the different actors who contribute to society.  The Churches must also take up their part in this effort. While individuals and groups speculate shamefully about slavery, we Christians, working together, are called to develop more and more collaboration, in order to overcome all kinds of inequality, all kinds of discrimination, which are precisely the factors that make it possible for one man to make another man a slave.  A common compromise in order to face this challenge will be a valuable aid toward creating a renewed society oriented toward freedom, justice and peace.

I hope that this Forum will be successful; I ask the Lord to bless you and to bless the work that you are doing.  And, please, do not forget to pray for me.  Thank you.

In defence of all human life

Being pro-life is one of the deepest expressions of our baptism: we stand up as sons and daughters of the light, clothed in humility and charity, filled with conviction, speaking the truth to power with firmness, conviction and determination, and never losing joy and hope. Being Pro-Life is not an activity for a political party or a particular side of the spectrum. It is an obligation for everyone: left, right and centre! If we are Pro-Life, we must engage the culture around us, and not curse it. We must see others as Jesus does, and we must love them to life, even those who are opposed to us. To March for Life in Ottawa, Washington and in many other cities of the world means that we stand up for all human life, and we do not have a myopic view of the cause of life. Being pro-life in this day and age is truly prophetic, and it will bring about authentic development and enduring peace in our world.

The burning issues of the promotion of human life, from conception to natural death, must be high on the agenda of every human being on every side of the political spectrum. They are not only the concern of the far right of the political spectrum. Many people, blinded by their own zeal and goodness, have ended up defeating the very cause for which we must all defend with every ounce of energy in our flesh and bones. What is wrong with abortion, euthanasia, embryo selection, and embryonic research is not the motives of those who carry them out. So often, those motives are, on the surface, compassionate: to protect a child from being unwanted, to end pain and suffering, to help a child with a life-threatening disease. But in all these cases, the terrible truth is that it is the strong who decide the fate of the weak; human beings therefore become instruments in the hands of other human beings.

Today we live in the midst of a culture that denies human solidarity and takes the form of a veritable culture of death. This culture is actively fostered by powerful cultural, economic and political currents that encourage an idea of society exclusively concerned with efficiency. It is a war of the powerful against the weak. There is no room in the world for anyone who, like the unborn or the dying, is a weak element in the social structure or anyone who appears completely at the mercy of others and radically dependent on them and can only communicate through the silent language of profound sharing of affection. Human life has a sacred and religious value, but in no way is that value a concern only of believers. There is no question that abortion is the most serious wound inflicted not only on individuals and their families who should provide the sanctuary for life, but inflicted as well on society and its culture, by the very people who ought to be society’s promoters and defenders. But immigration issues are also critical pro-life issues in our day. The lives of 800,000 Dreamers in America are pro-life issues. The separation of families at US borders is a pro-life issue. Wrongful incarceration of thousands of young people in holding facilities along the southern US border with Mexico is a pro-life issue. Care of the environment is also a critical pro-life issue for the world.

In Pope Francis’ recent Apostolic Exhortation Gaudete et Exsultate (On the Call to Holiness), he challenges each of us who consider ourselves to be Pro-Life. He speaks of dangerous ideologies which may at times misguide us in our efforts to march for life (GE, 101):

The other harmful ideological error is found in those who find suspect the social engagement of others, seeing it as superficial, worldly, secular, materialist, communist or populist. Or they relativize it, as if there are other more important matters, or the only thing that counts is one particular ethical issue or cause that they themselves defend. Our defence of the innocent unborn, for example, needs to be clear, firm and passionate, for at stake is the dignity of a human life, which is always sacred and demands love for each person, regardless of his or her stage of development. Equally sacred, however, are the lives of the poor, those already born, the destitute, the abandoned and the underprivileged, the vulnerable infirm and elderly exposed to covert euthanasia, the victims of human trafficking, new forms of slavery, and every form of rejection. We cannot uphold an ideal of holiness that would ignore injustice in a world where some revel, spend with abandon and live only for the latest consumer goods, even as others look on from afar, living their entire lives in abject poverty.

In the coming days, tens of thousands of people – many of them young men and women – will descend upon Ottawa to March for Life on May 10, 2018. Let us never forget to reflect upon what we do as individuals and as a community as we stand up for life – ALL human life. Building a culture of life and ending abortion is the duty and obligation of each and every person. But the litmus test for being pro-life is not only attending rallies or marches during the year in major cities of the world. The real test is what we do for life the remaining 364 days of the year, and what efforts, great and small, do we embrace to consistently and systematically oppose any type of murder, genocide, abortion, euthanasia or willful self-destruction, violations of human dignity, and coercions of the will. How do we advocate for those who endure subhuman living conditions, arbitrary imprisonment, deportation, slavery, prostitution, human trafficking and disgraceful working conditions and wrongful, unjust immigration policies? All of these things and more poison human society. We must strive for a strong, consistent ethic for life.

Our common home has become a place of violent conflict, hatred and brutal atrocities, committed even in the name of God and of religion.  During his brief pastoral visit to Sweden in October 2016, Pope Francis proposed six new beatitudes for the modern era on the Feast of All Saints:

Blessed are those who remain faithful while enduring evils inflicted on them by others, and forgive them from their heart;

Blessed are those who look into the eyes of the abandoned and marginalized, and show them their closeness;

Blessed are those who see God in every person, and strive to make others also discover him;

Blessed are those who protect and care for our common home;

Blessed are those who renounce their own comfort in order to help others;

Blessed are those who pray and work for full communion between Christians.

May these powerful words of Pope Francis be a guiding light and source of instruction, inspiration, consolation and hope to the people of our country as we march for life and defend human life – from conception to natural death – from womb to tomb. May the beatitudes compel us to move forward with boldness and courage, as we welcome, love and protect the poorest, weakest and most vulnerable among us.
(Written by Rev. Thomas Rosica, CSB)
(Texte en français)