Pope Francis to Mercedarians: your charism is needed
today
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis
on Monday received the participants in the General Chapter of the The Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary
of Mercy – the Mercedarian Order – which was founded in 1218 by Saint
Peter Nolasco, as an international community of priests and
brothers, who live a life of prayer and communal fraternity based on the Rule
of Saint Augustine, with the distinguishing characteristic of their charism
being their willingness – expressed in a special vow – to lay down their lives
for those in danger, especially those in danger of losing their faith.
Mercedarians have always
understood the redemption of captives as a permanent service for the faith of
those Christians who were most in danger of denying Jesus Christ and, as a
result, in danger of losing their souls.
The Mercedarians are
celebrating their General Chapter in view of the upcoming 800th Jubilee
of their Order’s founding.
In remarks prepared for the
occasion and delivered on Monday morning, Pope Francis celebrated the
illustrious history of the Mercedarian Order, and called on participants to
make a prayerful search for ways to adapt their history of heroic witness to
the needs of the present.
“May this chapter may be a
privileged occasion for a sincere and fruitful dialogue,” said Pope Francis,
“[one] that will not remain in the glorious past, but examines the difficulties
encountered on that path, hesitations and errors.” The Holy Father went on to
say, “The real life of the Order must be sought in the ongoing effort to adapt
and renew itself, in order to give a generous response to the real needs of the
world and the Church, in a manner faithful to the perennial heritage of which
[the Mercedarians of today] are depositaries.”
In the world today, the
Mercedarians are present in 17 countries, where they continue to rescue people
from modern types of captivity, especially those social, political, and
psychological forms of captivity, which endanger their faith. They work in
jails, marginal neighborhoods, among addicts, and in hospitals. In the United
States, the Order of Mercy gives special emphasis to preserving the faith of
families through education and parish work.
The Holy Father concluded
with an exhortation, saying, “In the eighth centenary of the Order, do not
cease ‘to proclaim the Year of Favor of the Lord’ to all those to whom you are
sent: to those held prisoner and persecuted because of their faith; to victims
of trafficking; to the young people in your schools; to all those who are
served by your works of mercy and to all the faithful you serve in the parishes
and missions with which you have been entrusted by the Church.”
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