Vatican City, 21 June 2015 (VIS) –
The Holy Father's afternoon in Turin began with a private visit to
the Shrine of the Consolata, the most popular basilica in the city,
dedicated to Mary the Consoler, protector of the city ever since the
twelfth century and invoked during the siege by Franco-Spanish troops
in 1706 and during the plague in 1835. The Pope prayed at the altar
of the Virgin and Child, the work of Felipe Juvarra, in the company
of ten priests from the Cathedral.
From there, he proceeded to the
basilica of Our Lady Help of Christians to celebrate with the
Daughters of Mary Help of Christians in their motherhouse on the
bicentenary of the birth of the “apostle of the young”, St. John
Bosco. Thousands of young people from Salesian oratories from all
over the world awaited the Pope outside the basilica. Upon arrival
Pope Francis, accompanied by the Archbishop of Turin, Cesare
Nosiglia, left a floral tribute at the main altar, inaugurated in
1868 at the behest of St. John Bosco, and handed the discourse he had
prepared to the Major Rector of the Salesians, Fr. Angel Fernandez
Artime, after which he made some unscripted remarks to those present.
Extensive extracts of the Pope's written discourse are published
below.
“I thank the Lord with you for having
given the Church this saint, who along with many other saints from
the region, is an honour and a blessing for the Church and for
society in Turin and Piedmont, for Italy and all the world, in
particular for the attention he showed to the young and marginalised
poor. Much may be said of Don Bosco. However, I would like to
emphasise just three characteristics: his trust in Divine Providence;
the vocation of being a priest for the young, especially the poorest;
and his loyal and active service to the Church, especially to Peter's
Successor”.
“Don Bosco carried out his priestly
mission up to his last breath, supported by an unswerving trust in
God and in His love, and for this he was able to do great things.
This relationship of trust with the Lord is also the substance of
consecrated life, so that service to the Gospel and to our brothers
does not remain a prisoner of our viewpoints, of the transient
realities of this world, but rather a continual surpassing of
ourselves, anchoring us in external realities and submerging
ourselves in the Lord, our strength and our hope. And this will also
be our fruitfulness”.
“The other important aspect of the
life of Don Bosco is service to the young. He achieved this with
steadfastness and constancy, notwithstanding obstacles and hardships,
with the sensibility of a generous heart. … The charism of Don
Bosco leads us to be educators of the young, implementing that
pedagogy of the faith that may be summarised thus: 'evangelise by
educating and educate by evangelising'. To evangelise the young, to
educate the young full-time, starting from the most fragile and
abandoned, proposing an educational style made of reason, religion
and affection, universally appreciated as a 'preventive system'. I
encourage you to continue with generosity and trust your many
activities in support of the new generations: oratories, youth
centres, professional institutes, schools and colleges. But without
forgetting what Don Bosco called the 'street children': they are
greatly in need of hope, of being formed in the joy of Christian
life”.
“Don Bosco was always obedient and
faithful the Church and the Pope, following suggestions and
pastoral indications. Today the Church turns to you, spiritual sons
and daughters of this great Saint, and in a concrete way invites you
to reach out, to go out anew to find the children and young people
where they are: in the peripheries of the metropolises, in the areas
of physical and moral danger, in social contexts where many material
things are missing, but where above all there is a lack of love,
understanding, tenderness and hope. Go towards them with the
overflowing paternity of Don Bosco. The oratory of Don Bosco was born
of the encounter with street children and for a certain time he lived
an itinerant life in the quarters of Turin. May you be able to
announce Jesus' mercy to all, making every place an 'oratory',
especially those that seem most impervious; carrying in your hearts
Don Bosco's oratory style and looking to ever-broader apostolic
horizons. From the solid root that he laid down two hundred years ago
in the terrain of the Church and in society, many branches have
grown: thirty religious institutions that live the charism to share
the mission of carrying the Gospel to the outer reaches of the
peripheries. The Lord has blessed this service, inspiring among you,
throughout these two centuries, a great number of people whom the
Church has proclaimed saints and blesseds. I encourage you to
continue on this path, imitating the faith of your predecessors”.
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