Pope
to celebrate Paraguay's indigenous Guaranì culture
 |
| Image of a Guarani mother and child. |
(Vatican
Radio) Pope Francis arrives in the Paraguayan capital, Asuncion on Friday for
the third and final phase of his pastoral visit to Latin America. Over the
following two days he will meet with civil and religious leaders, with young
people, with slum dwellers in one of the poorest parts of the city and with
patients and staff at a children’s hospital.
On
Saturday and Sunday, the Pope will celebrate Mass at the Marian shrine of
Caacupé and in a park where up to a million and a half people are expected to
attend the liturgy, with prayers in both Spanish and the local indigenous
language, Guaranì.
Father
Alberto Luna is provincial of the Society of Jesus in Paraguay: ahead of the
Pope’s arrival in Asuncion, he talked to Linda Bordoni, our correspondent for
this papal journey, about his expectations and about the significance of the
Guaranì language and culture…..
Fr
Alberto says the Jesuits are enthusiastically looking waiting for the Pope and
his message because, as an Argentinian Jesuit, “he knows Paraguay and our
people”. When he was a bishop in Buenos Aires, Fr Alberto continues, he met
many Paraguayans living there so he appreciates the language, the culture and
the faith of the people. “We hope he’ll encourage us to live our faith with a
special commitment for the poor and to change our ways of life”, he adds, “we
need that”.
Speaking
about the importance of Guaranì culture, Fr Alberto says it is “our native
language, our roots, it expresses our feelings” in the best way. Pope Francis
understands that and encourages us to appreciate our language. Today, he says,
the language is in danger because of globalization, so “we need to defend it
and I think the Pope will give us a pride about our language”. He says some of
the prayers and readings will be in Guaranì but he would like to see more of
its use in the liturgies.
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét