Pope to Ethiopian College:
“Welcome” at heart of Ethiopian presence in Rome
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| Pope Francis arrives for his audience with the community of the Pontifical Ethiopian College (Vatican Media) |
Pope Francis receives the community of the Pontifical
Ethiopian College on the centenary of its establishment by Pope Benedict XV.
By Christopher Wells
Pope Francis summed up “the Ethiopian presence within the
Vatican Walls” in a single word: “Welcome”. “At the tomb of the Apostle Peter”,
he said, “the children of peoples geographically distant from Rome, but close
to the Faith of the Apostles in professing Jesus Christ the Saviour, have found
home and hospitality throughout the centuries”.
Ethiopians in Rome
The story of Ethiopians in the Vatican goes back to the 15th century,
when Pope Sixtus IV granted Ethiopian pilgrims the use of the Church of Santo
Stefano degli Abissini (St Stephen of the Abyssinians) in the Vatican
Gardens. In the 20th century, Pope Benedict XV established the
Pontifical Ethiopian College, which was enlarged by Pope Pius XI.
In his address to the College community on Saturday, Pope
Francis recalled the words of one of the early pilgrims, Tesfa Sion, known as
Peter the Ethiopian: “I myself am Ethiopian, a pilgrim from place to place… but
nowhere, except in Rome, have I found peace of mind and body: peace of mind
because here is the true faith; peace of body, because here I have found the
Successor of Peter, who favours us in our needs”.
Two churches, one tradition
The Pope noted that the priests who come to study at the
college come from both Ethiopia and Eritrea, “two Churches united by the same
tradition”, and praised them for richness of their “precious ecclesial
tradition”, which he encouraged to preserve. The Holy Father also expressed his
appreciation of the tradition of coexistence, not only with Jews and Muslims,
but also with the “brothers and sisters” of the Tewahedo Orthodox Church.
At the same time, Pope Francis recalled with sorrow the many
people in their countries “whose lives are marked by poverty” and who have, for
a long time suffered from a “fratricidal war” which has only recently come to
end. The Pope prayed for an end to divisions between “ethnic groups and
countries with common roots”, and encouraged priests to always be “artisans of
good relations, and builders of peace”.
Migration
Pope Francis also called to mind the many people in both
countries who have “left their homelands at great cost”, many of whom have
experienced “tragedies on land and at sea”. While thanking the priests for
their commitment to the pastoral care of migrants, he said that much more can
and must be done, “at home and abroad”, in humble and generous service, and
“always on the basis of union with the Lord”.
Finally, the Pope expressed his hope that the Church in both
Ethiopia and Eritrea “might be guaranteed the freedom to serve the common good…
in the certainty that pastors and faithful alike want to contribute to the good
and prosperity of your nations”.
Recalling their devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Pope
Francis asked the community to entrust all their needs to her, and asked for
their prayers, before imparting the Apostolic blessing to them, their families,
and their communities.
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