MESSENGERS AND WITNESSES OF THE GOSPEL OF CHARITY

VATICAN CITY, APR 30, 1999 (VIS) - At midday today the Pope received the participants in the 24th General Chapter of the Sisters of Charity of Saints Bartolomea Capitanio and Vincenza Gerosa.

The Holy Father said: "In times like the present, marked by the contrast between the wealth of one part of humanity and the miserable conditions of huge numbers of poor, frequently reduced to hunger amidst the indifference of so many, an increase in love is necessary in order that consciences be stimulated and people of good be persuaded to open themselves to the needs of justice and solidarity."

John Paul II requested that the sisters be "messengers and witnesses of the Gospel of charity. Re-ignite hope and courage in the people you meet. Show them the tenderness of God, who never abandons his children. In order for this witness to be lasting and authentic, it must be constantly regenerated in the pure waters of Grace. You must listen to God's word and translate it into daily life".

"Saints Bartolomea Capitanio and Vincenza Gerosa ... saw Christ in the poor and they proposed Him as a complete answer to their most pressing problems." He concluded: "Their example is a constant lesson for you all".

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