Vatican City, 5 July 2014 (VIS) – The
convocation of the Celestine Jubilee Year in the Cathedral Square of
Isernia was the final act of Pope Francis' visit to the Italian
region of Molise; the birthplace of the hermit Pietro da Morrone, the
future Pope Celestine V (1209-1296), elected in the Conclave of
1292-1294 and who, after a five months abdicated from the papacy to
resume his life as a hermit.
Francis addressed the citizens of
Isernia from the main square and the focus of the city's life. “The
square is the place where we meet as citizens, and the cathedral is
the place where we meet with God, we listen to His Word, to live as
brethren; brethren and citizens. In Christianity there is not
opposition between sacred and profane, in this sense: citizens and
brothers”.
“There is a powerful idea that has
struck me, thinking of the legacy of St. Celestine V. He, like St.
Francis of Assisi, had a very strong sense of God's mercy, and the
fact that God's mercy renews the world. Pietro da Morrone, like
Francis of Assisi, knew well the society of his time, with its great
poverty. They were very close to the people, to the population. They
had the same compassion of Jesus towards many people, for the weary
and the oppressed; but he did not limit himself to dispensing good
advice, or pious consolations. They were the first to choose a way of
living that went against the grain; they chose to entrust themselves
to the Providence of the Father, not only in terms of personal
ascesis but as a prophetic witness to the paternity and fraternity
that constitute the message of Jesus Christ's Gospel”.
“And it always strikes me that with
their strong compassion for the people, these Saints felt the need to
give the people the greatest wealth they could offer: the Father’s
mercy and forgiveness. 'Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive
those who trespass against us'. In these words of the Lord's prayer
there is a whole plan for life, based on mercy. Mercy, indulgence,
the remission of debts, are not merely devotional, intimate, a
spiritual palliative. No! This is the prophecy of a new world, in
which the goods of the earth and of work are fairly distributed and
no one is deprived of necessities, because solidarity and sharing are
the concrete consequence of fraternity. These two Saints offer us an
example. They knew that, as clerics – one was a deacon, the other
was a bishop, the Bishop of Rome – as clerics, they should both set
an example of poverty, mercy and their full abnegation of
themselves”.
“Here, therefore, there is the
meaning of a new citizenship, which we feel strongly here, in this
Square in front of the Cathedral, where we speak of the memory of
Saint Pietro da Morrone, Celestine V. Herein is the very timely
meaning of the Jubilee Year, this Celestine Jubilee Year, which I
declare open from this moment, and during which the door of Divine
Mercy will be open wide for all. It is not a flight, it is not an
evasion of reality and its problems; it is the answer that comes from
the Gospel: love as force of purification of consciences, the force
of renewal of social relations, force of plans for a different
economy, placing the person, work and family at the centre, rather
than money and profit”.
He continued, “We are all aware that
this way is not that of the world; we are not dreamers or naive, nor
do we wish to create oases outside the real world. Rather, we believe
that this way is the one that is good for all; it is the way that
brings us close to justice and peace. However, we also know that we
are sinners, that we are always tempted not to follow this way but
instead to conform to the mentality of the world, the mentality of
power, the mentality of wealth. Therefore, we entrust ourselves to
God’s mercy, and we commit ourselves, with His grace, to bear
fruits of conversion and works of mercy. May the Virgin Mary, Mother
of Mercy, always accompany and support us on this path”.
With the convocation of the Jubilee
Year, the Holy Father's visit to Molise came to an end. He departed
by helicopter at 7.30 p.m., arriving in the Vatican at 8.15 p.m.
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