Thursday, December 22, 2016

Papal tribute to Nomadelfia’s founder

Image result for Father Zeno SaltiniPope Francis paid tribute to Father Zeno Saltini (1900-81), founder of Nomadelfia, a community in Grossetto, Italy, whose members take their inspiration from the early Christian community in the Acts of the Apostles, renounce private property, live in a kibbutz-style manner.

Father Saltini was accused of Communism in the early 1950s, but was rehabilitated a decade later during the papacy of St. John XXIII. St. John Paul II visited Nomadelfia in 1989.

“Through difficulties and misunderstandings, [Father Saltini] went on trustfully, with the aim of bringing the good seed of the Gospel even to the most parched earth,” Pope Francis said to 330 Nomadelfia members on December 17. 

“Don Zeno appears to us today as an example of a faithful disciple of Christ who, in imitation of the Divine Master, stoops to the sufferings of the weakest and poorest, becoming a witness of inexhaustible faith.”

“Your spiritual heritage is linked in a special way to the life of fraternity, characterized in particular by your welcome to children and your special care for the elderly,” the Pope continued. 

“I encourage you to give to society this example of care and tenderness, which is so important.”