Pope Leo greets the faithful as he leaves Castel Gandolfo to return to the Vatican
Pope Leo says there is hope for Ukraine, but work and
prayer are needed
We must “truly seek the way forward, to find peace,” the
Pope told journalists Tuesday night before returning to the Vatican from Castel
Gandolfo, where he had gone for a second period of rest on 13 August.
By Tiziana Campisi and Daniele Piccini
“There is hope, but we still need to work hard, pray hard,
and truly seek the way forward, to find peace,” Pope Leo said Tuesday evening,
in response to questions from journalists concerning negotiations for an end to
the war in Ukraine. Regarding possible talks with certain leaders, he said
“someone” hears him °continuously,” adding, “We pray and try to move forward.
The Pope’s remarks came around 9 p.m. as he left the summer
residence at Castel Gandolfo to return to the Vatican. About an hour earlier,
the Holy Father spent time greeting the many people who had gathered to see him
off. It was already dark when he walked through the gate of Villa Barberini and
stopped to talk to some jubilant faithful.
Pope Leo greets the
crowds as he leaves Villa Barberini
Pope Leo also spoke about his stay in in Castel Gandolfo,
saying he hopes to return soon. “Being here is a blessing,” he said. “I am very
happy with the welcome I have received from the people.”
He recalled his visit earlier in the day “to the shrine of
Our Lady, where Pope Saint John Paul II also visited.”
Finally, when asked about his first hundred days as pope, he
emphasised that they had been “a blessing from God.” In his final remarks
before getting in the car that would take him back to the Vatican, he said, “I
receive so much. I believe deeply in the Lord's grace, and I am very grateful
for the welcome I have received. I thank you all.”
Pope Leo waves from
his car as he returns to the Vatican
The second stay in
Castel Gandolfo
Pope Leo returned to Castel Gandolfo on 13 August for a
second period of rest, after spending just over two weeks there in July. There
were four appointments with the faithful during these seven days. On 15 August,
the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Pontiff
celebrated Mass in the pontifical parish of St Thomas of Villanova, not far
from Villa Barberini. In his homily, he emphasised that Mary's “yes” “still
lives and resists death in the martyrs of our time, in witnesses of faith and
justice, of gentleness and peace.” Later, at the Angelus, turning to current
world events, he urged people not to resign themselves to “the prevalence of
the logic of conflict and of arms”.
The day with the poor
and homeless of Albano
Last Sunday, 17 August, was also a day of encounters. In the
morning, the Pontiff presided over Mass at the Sanctuary of Santa Maria della
Rotonda in Albano for the poor of the area—including the homeless, and
residents of shelters and group homes in the diocese—as well as Caritas workers
and beneficiaries of counselling centres. During his homily, he urged them
bring into the world “not the fire of weapons or of words that incinerate
others,” but rather “the fire of love, which humbles itself and serves, which
opposes indifference with care and arrogance with meekness; the fire of
goodness, which does not cost as much as weapons, but freely renews the world.”
Welcomed by many people in the streets of the Albano ahead
of the Sunday liturgy, Pope Leo also visited an exhibition organised by the
diocesan Caritas, entitled “Signs of Hope.”
After Mass, the Holy Father returned to Castel Gandolfo for
the weekly Angelus. At the end of the Marian devotion, he invited the faithful
to join him in praying “that efforts to bring wars to an end and to promote
peace may bear fruit; and that in negotiations, the common good of peoples may
always be placed first.”
An eagerly awaited event was the lunch in Borgo Laudato Si'
with a hundred poor, homeless, and needy people assisted by Caritas of Albano.
At the beginning of the meal, Pope Leo recalled how important it is to share
“that gesture so meaningful for us all, of breaking bread, breaking bread
together, the gesture with which Jesus Christ is recognised among his people.”
The visit to the
sanctuary of Mentorella
Finally, Tuesday morning, Pope Leo made a private visit to
the sanctuary of Our Lady, Mother of Grace of Mentorella, in Guadagnolo, a
small village of Capranica Prenestina, in the diocese of Palestrina. The Pope
paused for some time in prayer and lit a candle at the foot of the statue of
the Virgin Mary, expressing a special plea for peace in the world. He also
spent time with the Resurrectionist religious, who are entrusted with the
pastoral care of the shrine, and joined them for lunch before returning to
Villa Barberini.
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét