Pope sends message for 500th
Anniversary of first Mass in Argentina
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| The Supper at Emmaus, by Caravagio. Like the disciples at Emmaus, says Pope Francis, the people of Argentina can call on Jesus to "stay with us!" |
In a message for the 500th Anniversary of the first Mass
celebrated in what is now Argentina, Pope Francis invites the faithful to live
out the words of Jesus: “Do this in memory of me”.
By Christopher Wells
On Wednesday, 1 April, the Bishop of Río Gallegos, Bishop
Jorge García Cuerva, presided over a Eucharistic celebration in commemoration
of the 500th anniversary of the first Mass celebrated on
Argentinian soil.
The Liturgy was originally scheduled to take place in Puerto
San Julián, where the first Mass in Argentina was celebrated in 1520. However,
in view of restrictions imposed on account of the Covid-19 pandemic, Bishop
García Cuerva celebrated the anniversary Mass in the Bishop’s chapel in Rio
Gallegos, without the presence of the faithful.
Jesus accompanies Argentina in Eucharist
In his message for the Anniversary, Pope Francis recognized
the pain felt by the people at not being able to celebrate the event as they
had intended. “We are like the disciples of Emmaus”, he wrote, “walking with ‘a
sad face’ because of what is happening, uneasy about how it will develop and
worried about the consequences it will leave”. But, he continued, like the
disciples, we can say to Jesus, “Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the
day is now far spent”. The hidden presence of Jesus in the Eucharist has
accompanied Argentina for five hundred years, the Pope said. “He is in our
midst, accompanying our journey”.
Living the words of Jesus
Pope Francis said that in these days it is “essential that
we are able to remember and learn this Eucharistic sense that only the Lord can
teach us”. The Lord’s words, “Do this in memory of me”, “continue to resound in
the various towns, parishes, chapels, hospitals, schools, houses, cities, and
neighbourhoods”, the Pope said. It is an opportunity to ensure that everyone
has food to eat, “that no one is left by the wayside”. “‘Do this in memory of
me’ means allowing oneself to be taken, blessed, and given as bread broken and
shared for the life of the world”, said Pope Francis, taking up the words of St
John Paul II.
In his letter to Bishop García Cuerva, Pope Francis said,
“Dear brother, although you will be physically celebrating alone, your people,
our Argentinian people, will be accompanying you”. And, he added, “I am also
joining you from here [in Rome], as a son and a part of this People of God who
gives thanks and celebrates the Lord’s faithfulness”.
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