From 27 to 29 November, at the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome, the first International Congress for Rectors and Staff members of Shrines was held, focused on the theme: The Shrine, an open door to the New Evangelization. At the conclusion of the working sessions, at 11:45am today (5:45am EST), in the Sala Regia at the Vatican Apostolic Palace, the Pope received the participants in audience and shared the following remarks.
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
I have been waiting for this moment which allows me to meet many representatives of the countless Shrines scattered in every region of the world. How much we need the Shrines in the daily journey that the Church undertakes! They are the places where our people more willingly gather to express their faith in simplicity, and according to the various traditions that have been learned since childhood. In many ways, our Shrines are irreplaceable because they keep popular piety alive, enriching it with a catechetical formation that sustains and reinforces the faith and at the same time nourishing the testimony of charity. This is very important: keep popular piety alive and do not forget that jewel that is spoken of in number 48 of Evangelii nuntiandi, where Saint Paul VI changed the name from popular religiosity to popular piety. It's a gem. That is the inspiration for popular piety which, as was once said by an Italian bishop, is the Church's immune system. It saves us from many things.
I thank His Excellency, Rino Fisichella for the words with which he introduced our gathering; words which offer me an opportunity for a few considerations.
First of all, I think of the importance of hospitality which should be offered to pilgrims. We know that more and more often our Shrines are destinations not of organized groups, but of individual pilgrims or autonomous groups who set out to reach these holy places. It is sad when it happens that, upon their arrival, there is no one to give them a word of welcome, to welcome them as pilgrims who have made a journey, often a long journey, in order to reach that Sanctuary. And uglier still is when they find the door closed! It can not happen that more attention is paid to material and financial needs, forgetting that the most important reality is the pilgrims. They are the ones who matter most. The bread comes later, but first them. Toward each of them we must be careful to make sure that they feel at home, like a long-awaited family who has finally arrived.
We must also consider that many people visit Shrines because they belong to local traditions; sometimes because their works of art are an attraction; or because they are located in a natural environment of great beauty and charm. These people, when they are welcomed, become more open to opening their hearts and allowing them to be shaped by grace. A climate of friendship is a fertile seed that our Shrines can throw into the soil of the pilgrims, allowing them to rediscover that trust in the Church that sometimes may have been disappointed by the indifference that has been received.
A Shrine is above all - and this is the second thing - a place of prayer. Most of our Shrines are dedicated to Marian piety. Here the Virgin Mary opens the arms of her maternal love to listen to everyone's prayer and to fulfill their requests. The feeling that every pilgrim experiences in the most profound depth of the heart are those that he or she finds also in the Mother of God. Here she smiles giving consolation. Here she sheds tears with those who are crying. Here she presents to each one the Son of God held tightly in her arms as the most precious thing that every mother possesses. Here Mary becomes the companion of every person who raises his or her eyes asking for a grace, all the while certain that it will be granted. The Virgin responds to all of us with the intensity of her gaze, which artists have been able to portray as often guided in turn from above in contemplation.
Concerning prayer in Shrines I would like to point out two requirements. First of all, encourage the prayer of the Church that makes salvation present and efficacious through the celebration of the sacraments. This allows anyone present in the Shrine to feel part of a larger community that from every part of the earth professes the same faith, witnesses the same love and lives the same hope. Many Shrines have arisen precisely because of the prayer request that the Virgin Mary has addressed to the seer, so that the Church never forgets the words of the Lord Jesus to pray without ceasing (cf Lk 18: 1) and to remain always vigilant in waiting for the his return (cf Mk 14:28).
Moreover, Shrines are called to nourish the prayer of the individual pilgrim in the silence of his heart. With the words of the heart, with silence, with formulas learned by heart as a child, with gestures of piety ... everyone must be able to be helped to express personal prayer. Many people come to Shrines because they need to receive a grace, and then they return to thank God for having experienced it, often for having received strength and peace in times of trial. This prayer makes Shrines fertile places, because popular piety is always nourished and grows in the knowledge of the love of God.
No one in our Shrines should feel like a stranger, especially when he or she comes to us with the weight of his or her own sin. And here I would like to make the last consideration: a Shrine is a privileged place to experience mercy that knows no boundaries. This is one of the reasons that led me to want Doors of mercy also in Shrines during the Extraordinary Jubilee. In fact, when mercy is experienced, it becomes a form of real evangelization, because it transforms those who receive mercy into witnesses of mercy. In the first place, the Sacrament of Reconciliation, which is so often celebrated in Shrines, requires well-trained, holy, merciful priests who are able to make the true encounter with the forgiving Lord. I hope that especially in Shrines, the figure of the Missionary of Mercy will never be lacking - if in some Shrines there is not such a person, ask the dicastery - as a faithful witness of the love of the Father who extends his arms and happily goes out to encounter those who have rediscovered the love that they have left behind (cf Lk 15: 11-32). Finally, the works of mercy beg to be lived in a particular way within our Shrines, because in them generosity and charity are realized in a natural and spontaneous way as acts of obedience and love for the Lord Jesus and for the Virgin Mary.
Dear brothers and sisters, I ask the Mother of God to support you and to accompany you in this great pastoral responsibility which has been entrusted to you. I bless you and I pray for you. And you too, please, do not forget to pray and to have others pray for me within your Shrines.
And, before I finish, I would like to talk about an experience, an experience of a brother and even my own experience. The Shrine is a place, so to speak, for the meeting not only with the pilgrim, with God, but also for the meeting of us pastors with our people. The liturgy of 2 February tells us that the Lord goes to the Shrine to meet his people; he goes out to meet his people, to understand the people of God, without prejudices; the people endowed with that nose of faith, of infallibility in believing of which number 12 of Lumen gentium speaks. This meeting is fundamental. If the pastor who is in the Shrine cannot meet the people of God, it is better for the bishop to give him another mission, because he is not suitable for that; and he will suffer so much and he will make the people suffer. I remember - and now I come to the anecdote - a professor of literature, a man was such a genius. All his life, he was a Jesuit; all his life, he had been a professor of advanced literature. Then he retired and asked the Provincial: "I am retired, but I would like to do something pastoral in a poor neighbourhood, to have contact with the people, with the people ... And the Provincial entrusted him with a neighbourhood filled with very devout people, who went to Shrines, people who had this spirit, but who were very poor; it was more or less a shantytown. And he had to come once a week to the community of the Faculty of Theology, where I was Rector. He spent the whole day with us, in fraternity, then he returned. Thus he maintained life in community. And since he was a genius, one day he told me: You must tell the professor of ecclesiology that he is lacking two theses - How come? - Yes, two theses that he must teach - And what are they? - The first is that the holy faithful people of God are ontologically Olympians, that is to say that they do what they want; and second: they is metaphysically tedious, that is, blocked. He understood how in his meetings with the people of God, he grew tired. If you are in contact with the people of God, you will get tired. A pastoral worker who does not get tired leaves me very perplexed! And with regard to the fact that he is an Olympian, that is, he does what he wants, I remember when I was a novice master: I went every year - as a provincial with novices - to the Shrine of Salta, to the North of Argentina, for the feast of Señor del Milagro. Coming out of the Mass - I confessed, during the Mass - there were so many people, and a lady approached another priest with some holy people: Father, can you bless them?, and that priest, a very smart theologian, he said: But madam, were you not just at Mass? - Yes - And do you know that at Mass there is the sacrifice of Calvary, that Jesus Christ is present? - Yes, father, yes - And do you know that all these things are more than blessed? - Yes, father - And do you know that in the final blessing everything is blessed? - Yes, father. And at that moment, another priest came out, and the lady said: Father, can you bless me?. And he touched her and blessed her. She got what she wanted: she wanted the priest to touch them. The religious sense of touch. When people touch images, they touch God.
Thank you for all that you do! And now, I will give you my blessing.
(Original text in Italian)
Greetings of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
addressed to Rectors of Shrines
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
I have been waiting for this moment which allows me to meet many representatives of the countless Shrines scattered in every region of the world. How much we need the Shrines in the daily journey that the Church undertakes! They are the places where our people more willingly gather to express their faith in simplicity, and according to the various traditions that have been learned since childhood. In many ways, our Shrines are irreplaceable because they keep popular piety alive, enriching it with a catechetical formation that sustains and reinforces the faith and at the same time nourishing the testimony of charity. This is very important: keep popular piety alive and do not forget that jewel that is spoken of in number 48 of Evangelii nuntiandi, where Saint Paul VI changed the name from popular religiosity to popular piety. It's a gem. That is the inspiration for popular piety which, as was once said by an Italian bishop, is the Church's immune system. It saves us from many things.
I thank His Excellency, Rino Fisichella for the words with which he introduced our gathering; words which offer me an opportunity for a few considerations.
First of all, I think of the importance of hospitality which should be offered to pilgrims. We know that more and more often our Shrines are destinations not of organized groups, but of individual pilgrims or autonomous groups who set out to reach these holy places. It is sad when it happens that, upon their arrival, there is no one to give them a word of welcome, to welcome them as pilgrims who have made a journey, often a long journey, in order to reach that Sanctuary. And uglier still is when they find the door closed! It can not happen that more attention is paid to material and financial needs, forgetting that the most important reality is the pilgrims. They are the ones who matter most. The bread comes later, but first them. Toward each of them we must be careful to make sure that they feel at home, like a long-awaited family who has finally arrived.
We must also consider that many people visit Shrines because they belong to local traditions; sometimes because their works of art are an attraction; or because they are located in a natural environment of great beauty and charm. These people, when they are welcomed, become more open to opening their hearts and allowing them to be shaped by grace. A climate of friendship is a fertile seed that our Shrines can throw into the soil of the pilgrims, allowing them to rediscover that trust in the Church that sometimes may have been disappointed by the indifference that has been received.
A Shrine is above all - and this is the second thing - a place of prayer. Most of our Shrines are dedicated to Marian piety. Here the Virgin Mary opens the arms of her maternal love to listen to everyone's prayer and to fulfill their requests. The feeling that every pilgrim experiences in the most profound depth of the heart are those that he or she finds also in the Mother of God. Here she smiles giving consolation. Here she sheds tears with those who are crying. Here she presents to each one the Son of God held tightly in her arms as the most precious thing that every mother possesses. Here Mary becomes the companion of every person who raises his or her eyes asking for a grace, all the while certain that it will be granted. The Virgin responds to all of us with the intensity of her gaze, which artists have been able to portray as often guided in turn from above in contemplation.
Concerning prayer in Shrines I would like to point out two requirements. First of all, encourage the prayer of the Church that makes salvation present and efficacious through the celebration of the sacraments. This allows anyone present in the Shrine to feel part of a larger community that from every part of the earth professes the same faith, witnesses the same love and lives the same hope. Many Shrines have arisen precisely because of the prayer request that the Virgin Mary has addressed to the seer, so that the Church never forgets the words of the Lord Jesus to pray without ceasing (cf Lk 18: 1) and to remain always vigilant in waiting for the his return (cf Mk 14:28).
Moreover, Shrines are called to nourish the prayer of the individual pilgrim in the silence of his heart. With the words of the heart, with silence, with formulas learned by heart as a child, with gestures of piety ... everyone must be able to be helped to express personal prayer. Many people come to Shrines because they need to receive a grace, and then they return to thank God for having experienced it, often for having received strength and peace in times of trial. This prayer makes Shrines fertile places, because popular piety is always nourished and grows in the knowledge of the love of God.
No one in our Shrines should feel like a stranger, especially when he or she comes to us with the weight of his or her own sin. And here I would like to make the last consideration: a Shrine is a privileged place to experience mercy that knows no boundaries. This is one of the reasons that led me to want Doors of mercy also in Shrines during the Extraordinary Jubilee. In fact, when mercy is experienced, it becomes a form of real evangelization, because it transforms those who receive mercy into witnesses of mercy. In the first place, the Sacrament of Reconciliation, which is so often celebrated in Shrines, requires well-trained, holy, merciful priests who are able to make the true encounter with the forgiving Lord. I hope that especially in Shrines, the figure of the Missionary of Mercy will never be lacking - if in some Shrines there is not such a person, ask the dicastery - as a faithful witness of the love of the Father who extends his arms and happily goes out to encounter those who have rediscovered the love that they have left behind (cf Lk 15: 11-32). Finally, the works of mercy beg to be lived in a particular way within our Shrines, because in them generosity and charity are realized in a natural and spontaneous way as acts of obedience and love for the Lord Jesus and for the Virgin Mary.
Dear brothers and sisters, I ask the Mother of God to support you and to accompany you in this great pastoral responsibility which has been entrusted to you. I bless you and I pray for you. And you too, please, do not forget to pray and to have others pray for me within your Shrines.
And, before I finish, I would like to talk about an experience, an experience of a brother and even my own experience. The Shrine is a place, so to speak, for the meeting not only with the pilgrim, with God, but also for the meeting of us pastors with our people. The liturgy of 2 February tells us that the Lord goes to the Shrine to meet his people; he goes out to meet his people, to understand the people of God, without prejudices; the people endowed with that nose of faith, of infallibility in believing of which number 12 of Lumen gentium speaks. This meeting is fundamental. If the pastor who is in the Shrine cannot meet the people of God, it is better for the bishop to give him another mission, because he is not suitable for that; and he will suffer so much and he will make the people suffer. I remember - and now I come to the anecdote - a professor of literature, a man was such a genius. All his life, he was a Jesuit; all his life, he had been a professor of advanced literature. Then he retired and asked the Provincial: "I am retired, but I would like to do something pastoral in a poor neighbourhood, to have contact with the people, with the people ... And the Provincial entrusted him with a neighbourhood filled with very devout people, who went to Shrines, people who had this spirit, but who were very poor; it was more or less a shantytown. And he had to come once a week to the community of the Faculty of Theology, where I was Rector. He spent the whole day with us, in fraternity, then he returned. Thus he maintained life in community. And since he was a genius, one day he told me: You must tell the professor of ecclesiology that he is lacking two theses - How come? - Yes, two theses that he must teach - And what are they? - The first is that the holy faithful people of God are ontologically Olympians, that is to say that they do what they want; and second: they is metaphysically tedious, that is, blocked. He understood how in his meetings with the people of God, he grew tired. If you are in contact with the people of God, you will get tired. A pastoral worker who does not get tired leaves me very perplexed! And with regard to the fact that he is an Olympian, that is, he does what he wants, I remember when I was a novice master: I went every year - as a provincial with novices - to the Shrine of Salta, to the North of Argentina, for the feast of Señor del Milagro. Coming out of the Mass - I confessed, during the Mass - there were so many people, and a lady approached another priest with some holy people: Father, can you bless them?, and that priest, a very smart theologian, he said: But madam, were you not just at Mass? - Yes - And do you know that at Mass there is the sacrifice of Calvary, that Jesus Christ is present? - Yes, father, yes - And do you know that all these things are more than blessed? - Yes, father - And do you know that in the final blessing everything is blessed? - Yes, father. And at that moment, another priest came out, and the lady said: Father, can you bless me?. And he touched her and blessed her. She got what she wanted: she wanted the priest to touch them. The religious sense of touch. When people touch images, they touch God.
Thank you for all that you do! And now, I will give you my blessing.
(Original text in Italian)
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