VATICAN CITY, NOV 10, 2007 (VIS) - This morning confraternities from dioceses in Italy gathered in St. Peter's Square for an audience with the Pope. Forty thousand members of various confraternities participated in Mass, at the end of which the Holy Father arrived to extend his greetings to them.
In his remarks the Pope recalled "the importance and influence confraternities have had in the Christian communities of Italy since the early centuries of last millennium," and how they soon became "groups of lay faithful dedicated to accentuating certain features of popular religiosity associated with the life of Jesus Christ ... and with devotion to the Virgin Mary and the saints," often combining this with "works of mercy and solidarity."
"This spirit of fraternal charity is better understood if we consider how [confraternities] began to be formed in the Middle Ages, when structured forms of public assistance ensuring social and sanitary care for the weakest groups of society still did not exist," he said.
However, Benedict XVI went on, confraternities "are not mere mutual-assistance societies or philanthropic associations, but groups of brothers who, wishing to live the Gospel in the awareness of being a living part of the Church, aim to put into practice the commandment of love, which encourages people to open their hearts to others, especially to those in difficulty."
"In the period of great change we are currently traversing, the Church ... also needs you, dear friends, to ensure that the announcement of the Gospel of charity reaches everyone, along old paths and new. Rooted in the solid foundation of faith in Christ, may your worthy confraternities, with their unique charisms and the ecclesial vitality that distinguishes them, continue to spread the message of salvation to people, working on the many frontiers of new evangelization.
"You will be able to carry out this important mission if you always cultivate profound love for the Lord and meek obedience to your pastors," added the Pope in conclusion. "With these conditions, and firmly maintaining the necessary evangelical and ecclesial requisites, your confraternities will continue to be popular schools of faith lived in the forge of sanctity, ... ferment and leaven in society, contributing to the creation of that spiritual rebirth in which we all hope."
AC/CONFRATERNITIES/... VIS 20071112 (380)
In his remarks the Pope recalled "the importance and influence confraternities have had in the Christian communities of Italy since the early centuries of last millennium," and how they soon became "groups of lay faithful dedicated to accentuating certain features of popular religiosity associated with the life of Jesus Christ ... and with devotion to the Virgin Mary and the saints," often combining this with "works of mercy and solidarity."
"This spirit of fraternal charity is better understood if we consider how [confraternities] began to be formed in the Middle Ages, when structured forms of public assistance ensuring social and sanitary care for the weakest groups of society still did not exist," he said.
However, Benedict XVI went on, confraternities "are not mere mutual-assistance societies or philanthropic associations, but groups of brothers who, wishing to live the Gospel in the awareness of being a living part of the Church, aim to put into practice the commandment of love, which encourages people to open their hearts to others, especially to those in difficulty."
"In the period of great change we are currently traversing, the Church ... also needs you, dear friends, to ensure that the announcement of the Gospel of charity reaches everyone, along old paths and new. Rooted in the solid foundation of faith in Christ, may your worthy confraternities, with their unique charisms and the ecclesial vitality that distinguishes them, continue to spread the message of salvation to people, working on the many frontiers of new evangelization.
"You will be able to carry out this important mission if you always cultivate profound love for the Lord and meek obedience to your pastors," added the Pope in conclusion. "With these conditions, and firmly maintaining the necessary evangelical and ecclesial requisites, your confraternities will continue to be popular schools of faith lived in the forge of sanctity, ... ferment and leaven in society, contributing to the creation of that spiritual rebirth in which we all hope."
AC/CONFRATERNITIES/... VIS 20071112 (380)
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