VATICAN CITY, 30 MAR 2008 (VIS) - Today at midday the Pope prayed the Regina Coeli with thousands of pilgrims gathered at his Castelgandolfo residence, where he is currently spending a few days rest. Faithful in St. Peter's Square were able to follow the event through a television linkup The Pope is due to return to the Vatican this evening.
In opening remarks, the Holy Father recalled how during the Jubilee Year 2000 "Servant of God John Paul II ordained that throughout the Church the Sunday after Easter, apart from being 'in Albis' Sunday, should also be called Divine Mercy Sunday. The pronouncement coincided with the canonisation of Faustina Kowalska, a humble Polish nun, who was born in 1905, died in 1938, and was a zealous messenger of the Merciful Jesus.
"Mercy", the Pope added, "is the central nucleus of the evangelical message. ... Merciful love also illuminates the face of the Church and shows itself both through the Sacraments - especially the Sacrament of Penance - and through works of charity. ... From divine mercy, which brings peace to hearts, arises authentic peace for the world, peace between peoples, and among various cultures and religions".
He proceeded: "Like Sister Faustina, John Paul II was also an apostle of Divine Mercy. That unforgettable Saturday 2 April 2005, when he closed his eyes to this world, was the eve of the second Sunday of Easter. And many people remarked upon the singular coincidence which brought together two dimensions: the Marian (the first Saturday of the month), and that of Divine Mercy".
"It is here" said Benedict XVI, that John Paul II's "long and multifaceted pontificate has its central core; his entire mission at the service of the truth about God and man and of peace in the world is summed up in this statement he himself pronounced at Krakow-Lagiewniki in 2002, inaugurating the great Shrine of Divine Mercy: 'Apart from God's mercy there is no other source of hope for human beings'. His message, then, like that of St. Faustina, leads us back to the face of Christ, the supreme revelation of God's mercy. Constantly contemplating that face is the legacy he left us and that we joyfully accept and make our own".
The Pope then recalled that the First World Apostolic Congress on Divine Mercy will be held in Rome next week, to be inaugurated with a Mass in St. Peter's Square on Wednesday 2 April, the third anniversary of the death of John Paul II.
"We place the congress under the celestial protection of Most Holy Mary 'Mater Misericordiae'. To her we entrust the great cause of peace in the world, that God's mercy may achieve that which is impossible for merely human efforts, and infuse hearts with the courage for dialogue and reconciliation".
Following the Marian prayer, the Holy Father greeted the numerous pilgrims gathered in St. Peter's Square, especially those who had participated in that morning's Mass for the Feast of Divine Mercy, celebrated by Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone S.D.B. "May the intercession of St. Faustina and of Servant of God John Paul II help you to be true witnesses of merciful love", said Pope Benedict. "As an example to follow, I wish to indicate Mother Celestina Donati, foundress of the Congregation of the Poor Sisters of St. Joseph Calasanzio, who will be proclaimed a Blessed in Florence today".
ANG/DIVINE MERCY/... VIS 20080331 (580)
In opening remarks, the Holy Father recalled how during the Jubilee Year 2000 "Servant of God John Paul II ordained that throughout the Church the Sunday after Easter, apart from being 'in Albis' Sunday, should also be called Divine Mercy Sunday. The pronouncement coincided with the canonisation of Faustina Kowalska, a humble Polish nun, who was born in 1905, died in 1938, and was a zealous messenger of the Merciful Jesus.
"Mercy", the Pope added, "is the central nucleus of the evangelical message. ... Merciful love also illuminates the face of the Church and shows itself both through the Sacraments - especially the Sacrament of Penance - and through works of charity. ... From divine mercy, which brings peace to hearts, arises authentic peace for the world, peace between peoples, and among various cultures and religions".
He proceeded: "Like Sister Faustina, John Paul II was also an apostle of Divine Mercy. That unforgettable Saturday 2 April 2005, when he closed his eyes to this world, was the eve of the second Sunday of Easter. And many people remarked upon the singular coincidence which brought together two dimensions: the Marian (the first Saturday of the month), and that of Divine Mercy".
"It is here" said Benedict XVI, that John Paul II's "long and multifaceted pontificate has its central core; his entire mission at the service of the truth about God and man and of peace in the world is summed up in this statement he himself pronounced at Krakow-Lagiewniki in 2002, inaugurating the great Shrine of Divine Mercy: 'Apart from God's mercy there is no other source of hope for human beings'. His message, then, like that of St. Faustina, leads us back to the face of Christ, the supreme revelation of God's mercy. Constantly contemplating that face is the legacy he left us and that we joyfully accept and make our own".
The Pope then recalled that the First World Apostolic Congress on Divine Mercy will be held in Rome next week, to be inaugurated with a Mass in St. Peter's Square on Wednesday 2 April, the third anniversary of the death of John Paul II.
"We place the congress under the celestial protection of Most Holy Mary 'Mater Misericordiae'. To her we entrust the great cause of peace in the world, that God's mercy may achieve that which is impossible for merely human efforts, and infuse hearts with the courage for dialogue and reconciliation".
Following the Marian prayer, the Holy Father greeted the numerous pilgrims gathered in St. Peter's Square, especially those who had participated in that morning's Mass for the Feast of Divine Mercy, celebrated by Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone S.D.B. "May the intercession of St. Faustina and of Servant of God John Paul II help you to be true witnesses of merciful love", said Pope Benedict. "As an example to follow, I wish to indicate Mother Celestina Donati, foundress of the Congregation of the Poor Sisters of St. Joseph Calasanzio, who will be proclaimed a Blessed in Florence today".
ANG/DIVINE MERCY/... VIS 20080331 (580)
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