Pope Francis: Pray for the
Church, especially in bad times
Pope Francis prays before the relics of St. Nicholas in Bari (Vatican Media) |
The apostolate of prayer accompanies the Church and its
Pastors. The Pope underlines this in his greeting to the faithful gathered
outside the Basilica of Saints Nicholas in the Italian city of Bari. Before his
greeting Pope Francis gathered in prayer in the crypt where the relics of the
Saint are kept.
Giada Aquilino - Vatican City
Pope Francis on Sunday made his way into the crypt of the
Basilica of St. Nicholas and venerated the Saint's relics which are kept under
the altar and were moved to Bari in 1087 from Myra, in present-day Turkey. The
Dominican fathers, custodians of the Basilica, accompanied the Pope in this
moment of recollection.
Prayer is the strength of a Christian community
Before the Eucharistic celebration in Bari, the Pope greeted
the crowd in the Square in front of the Basilica. The Pope stopped for a few
moments to bless children, before thanking the faithful in particular for
having accompanied the work of the "Mediterranean, Frontier of
Peace" meeting with prayer.
“Prayers are precisely the strength, the strength of a
Christian community”, the Pope said. “The Pastors pray, but they must work
during these days of reflection. But they felt accompanied and safe with your
prayers. I thank you so much for this work, for this apostolate of praying,
praying for the Church. Do not forget: to pray for the Church, for the
Pastors... And in bad times we pray even more, because the Lord must always
come to resolve problems.”
The example of the Virgin
Before the blessing, Pope Francis prayed that Mary, who -
the Pope recalled - "prayed a lot during her life", would accompany
the Church on her journey at all times.
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