“On the vigil of the Synodal assembly on New Evangelization, the memory
of Saint Gallen and his work,” emphasized Pope Benedict XVI, will
inspire people to watch “with faith and hope the great ‘harvest’ that
are the people of Europe, in the wake of the Vatican II Ecumenical
Council, and the teachings of the supreme Pontiffs who have implemented
them,” in a message sent on the occasion of the Plenary Assembly for the
Council of the Episcopal European Conference (CCEE), that is taking
place from September 27-30 at St. Gallen.
In the message, the Pope
calls for a “renewal of the magisterial lesson of Servant of God, Paul
VI, in Evangelii nuntiandi, and Blessed John Paul II in Novo milennio
ineunte” and “from the point of view of the upcoming Year of Faith.”
In
the message sent to the President of the CCEE, Cardinal Péter Erdő,
through the Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Pope also
invited the Church in Europe “to reflect on the unending task of
evangelization, and on its renewed urgency in the present time,” and to
follow the experience of Saint Gallen who teaches that “the Christian
message is sown and is rooted efficaciously where it is lived
authentically and eloquently in community.”
The Plenary of the CCEE takes place at Sankt Gallen, seat of the CCEE Secretary since 1978, to commemorate the 1400th
anniversary of the arrival of Saint Gallen in the canton of the same
name.
Saint Gallen was a disciple of Saint Colombanus who accompanied
him from Ireland, together with other disciples, in his mission to
evangelize the continent.
After an illness forced him to remain near the
Arbon district, he decided to dedicate himself to the hermitic live.
His reputation for holiness attracted many to him, giving birth to a
monastic community that would become, in turn, the driving force for
more missions among many people.