Pope welcomes French youths
returning from missionary journey
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| Young people from the French Diocese of Viviers tell Pope Francis about their journey. (Vatican Media) |
On the day following the conclusion of the Synod on Youth,
Pope Francis welcomed a group of young missionaries to the Vatican.
By Christopher Wells
The missionaries, from the Diocese of Viviers, in France,
had spent a month in the Argentinian Diocese of La Rioja. In his
address, Pope Francis recalled the witness of Fr Gabriel
Longueville, a Franciscan priest from Viviers, who was martyred in La Rioja
along with another priest, Fr Carlos Murias. The Bishop of La
Rioja, Enrique Angelelli; and a layman, Wenceslao Pedernera,
were martyred in the diocese around the same time.
The greatness and the risks of mission
“Walking in the footsteps of these witnesses,” the Pope told
the young people, “you have been able to discover the greatness and the risks
of the mission that makes us servants and friends of the Lord, who ‘came not to
be served, but to serve.’”
Perservering on the path of Jesus
The Holy Father said he was glad to see “this beautiful
experience of prayer, fraternal sharing, and service that you experienced in La
Rioja.” He encouraged the young people “to persevere ‘along the path of Jesus
the Servant,’ asking the Holy Spirit to help you to be builders of bridges
among men and women, and to always be close to wounded humanity, to the
excluded, in order to make visible the love of the Father and the joy
of the Gospel.”
Pope Francis concluded his brief remarks by entrusting those
present to the Lord, through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
Saints John Francis Regis and Therese Couderc, and Blessed Charles de Foucald.
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