Drawing on the experience of the Latin American Church, Pope Francis
called on groups dedicated to specific saints to grow in their faith,
help unite the Church and evangelize through their public acts of
devotion.
“Three words, don’t forget them: Evangelical spirit, ecclesial spirit,
missionary spirit. Let us ask the Lord always to direct our minds and
hearts to him, as living stones of the Church, so that all that we do,
our whole Christian life, may be a luminous witness to his mercy and
love,” the Pope told the thousands of devotees gathered May 5 in St.
Peter’s Square.
Most of the pilgrims began arriving in Rome this past Friday, and their
colorful outfits brought a certain flair to the streets surrounding the
Vatican. They came for the Year of Faith weekend event dedicated to
confraternities – groups of Catholics who are dedicated to a particular
saint or spirituality – many of which have ancient roots.
The culmination of the weekend was a Mass that Pope Francis celebrated
with them in St. Peter’s Square at 10:00 a.m. on Sunday, May 5.
Although Saturday was sunny, Sunday morning began with an overcast sky
that turned to rain just before Mass was about to start, leading the
Pope to congratulate the pilgrims for their perseverance.
“Dear brothers and sisters,” he began his homily, “you were very
courageous to come with this rain … May the Lord bless you very much!”
The confraternities – which came from Italy, France, Ireland, Malta,
Spain and Poland for the event – were welcomed by the Pope, who noted
that they are “a traditional reality in the Church, which in recent
times has experienced renewal and rediscovery.”
Throughout his homily on the day’s readings, Pope Francis drew on
Benedict XVI’s pervious message to confraternities, but also added
insights from the Latin American bishops’ remarks on the groups.
His first exhortation to the crowd was to nurture their devotions as a
“treasure possessed by the Church, which the bishops of Latin America
defined, significantly, as a spirituality, a form of mysticism, which is
a place of encounter with Jesus Christ.
“Draw always from Christ, the inexhaustible wellspring; strengthen your
faith by attending to your spiritual formation, to personal and
communitarian prayer, and to the liturgy,” he urged.
Pope Francis then recalled how the first Christians solved their problems within the Church, not from without.
“And this brings up a second element which I want to remind you of, as
Benedict XVI did, namely: ecclesial spirit. Popular piety is a road
which leads to what is essential, if it is lived in the Church in
profound communion with your pastors,” he said.
The Holy Father observed that this morning St. Peter’s Square contained
“a great variety, first of umbrellas, and then of colors and signs.”
“This is also the case with the Church: a great wealth and variety of
expressions in which everything leads back to unity, the variety leads
back to unity and unity to the encounter with Christ,” he said,
repeating a theme he has raised in his daily Masses.
Pope Francis’ final point for the confraternities was that they should have a “missionary spirit.”
“You have a specific and important mission,” he stated, “that of keeping
alive the relationship between the faith and the cultures of the
peoples to whom you belong. You do this through popular piety.”
“When, for example, you carry the crucifix in procession with such great
veneration and love for the Lord, you are not performing a simple
outward act … you are reminding yourselves first, as well as the
community, that we have to follow Christ along the concrete path of our
daily lives so that he can transform us,” he preached.
Quoting from the Latin American bishops’ “Aparecida Document,” Pope
Francis said, “(i)n effect, journeying together towards shrines, and
participating in other demonstrations of popular piety, bringing along
your children and engaging other people, is itself a work of
evangelization.”
After Mass finished, the Pope recited the Regina Caeli and greeted the
Meter Association, which is dedicated to preventing the abuse of
children.
“It allows me the opportunity to turn my thoughts to the many who have
suffered and continue to suffer because of abuse,” he said.
“I wish to assure them that they are present in my prayers, and I would
also like to say that each of us must do all we can and commit ourselves
with clarity and courage so that every human person, especially
children, who are in the category of the most vulnerable, are always
defended and protected.”