FIRST ADVENT SERMON

Vatican City, 6 December 2013 (VIS) – This morning in the Redemptoris Mater Chapel the Holy Father attended the first Advent sermon, which was preached by Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa, O.F.M. Cap., and had the theme “Toward the Lord's Nativity in the Company of St. Francis of Assisi”.

Pope Francis' recent pilgrimage to Assisi and the theme of the next World Day of Peace (“Fraternity, the Foundation, and the Pathway to Peace”) offer the opportunity to reflect on what the poor have to say to the Church today.

In particular, the homily focused on the themes of:

1. Francis of Assisi and Church reform by way of holiness

2. Francis of Assisi's holiness, the evangelical path to fraternity and peace, and

3. With St. Francis before the mystery of the Incarnation: the poverty of Christ and of Francis.