POPE FRANCIS: “OH, HOW I WISH FOR A CHURCH THAT IS POOR AND FOR THE POOR!”

Vatican City, 16 March 2013 (VIS) – This morning in the the Paul VI Audience Hall, the Holy Father greeted over 6,000 journalists and those working in the media as well as for the Holy See, accredited either permanently or temporarily, to cover the events related to the Conclave. He addressed them with the following words:

“Dear friends, I am pleased, at the beginning of my ministry in the See of Peter, to meet with you who have worked here in Rome at this very intense period that began with the surprising announcement of my venerated predecessor Benedict XVI, this past 11 February. I warmly greet each of you.”

“The role of the mass media has been continuously growing in recent times,” he said, “so much so that it has become essential to narrate the events of contemporary history to the world. I therefore especially thank you for your distinguished service these past few days—you have had a bit of work to do, haven't you?—when the eyes of the Catholic world, and not only, were turned toward the Eternal City, in particular to this area that has St. Peter's tomb as its focal point. In these past few weeks you've gotten a chance to talk about the Holy See, the Church, her rites and traditions, her faith, and, in particular, the role of the Pope and his ministry.”

“A particularly heart-felt thanks goes to those who have been able to observe and present these events in the Church's history while keeping in mind the most just perspective in which they must be read, that of faith. Historical events almost always require a complex reading that, at times, can also include the dimension of faith. Ecclesial events are certainly not more complicated than political or economic ones. But they have one particularly fundamental characteristic: they answer to a logic that is not mainly that of, so to speak, worldly categories, and this is precisely why it is not easy to interpret and communicate them to a wide and varied audience. In fact, the Church, although it is certainly also a human, historical institution with all that that entails, does not have a political nature but is essentially spiritual: it is the people of God, the holy people of God who walk toward the encounter with Jesus Christ. Only by putting oneself in this perspective can one fully explain how the Catholic Church works.”

“Christ is the Church's Shepherd, but His presence in history moves through human freedom. Among these, one is chosen to serve as his Vicar, Successor of the Apostle Peter, but Christ is the centre, the fundamental reference, the heart of the Church! Without Him, neither Peter nor the Church would exist or have a reason for being. As Benedict XVI repeated often, Christ is present and leads His Church. In everything that has happened, the protagonist is, ultimately, the Holy Spirit. He has inspired Benedict XVI's decision for the good of the Church; He has guided the cardinals in their prayers and in their election. Dear friends, it is important to take due account of this interpretive horizon, this hermeneutic, to bring the heart of the events of these days into focus.”

“From this is born, above all, a renewed and sincere thanks for your efforts in these particularly challenging days, but also an invitation to always seek to know more the Church's true nature and the spiritual motivations that guide her and that are the most authentic for understanding her. Rest assured that the Church, for her part, is very attentive to your precious work. You have the ability to gather and express the expectations and needs of our times, to provide the elements necessary to read reality. Like many other professions, your job requires study, sensitivity, and experience but it bears with it a particular attention to truth, goodness, and beauty. This makes us particularly close because the Church exists to communicate Truth, Goodness, and Beauty 'in person'. It should be clear that we are all called, not to communicate ourselves, but rather this existential triad that shapes truth, goodness, and beauty.”

Then, putting aside his written text, the Pope said: “Some people didn't know why the Bishop of Rome wanted to call himself 'Francis'. Some though of Francis Xavier, Francis de Sales, even Francis of Assisi. I will tell you the story. At the election I had the archbishop emeritus of Sao Paulo next to me. He is also prefect emeritus of the Congregation for the Clergy, Cardinal Claudio Hummes [O.F.M.]: a dear, dear friend. When things were getting a little 'dangerous', he comforted me. And then, when the votes reached the two-thirds, there was the usual applause because the Pope had been elected. He hugged me and said: 'Do not forget the poor.' And that word stuck here [tapping his forehead]; the poor, the poor. Then, immediately in relation to the poor I thought of Francis of Assisi. Then I thought of war, while the voting continued, until all the votes [were counted]. And so the name came to my heart:: Francis of Assisi. For me he is the man of poverty, the man of peace, the man who love and safeguards Creation. In this moment when our relationship with Creation is not so good—right?—He is the man who gives us this spirit of peace, the poor man … Oh, how I wish for a Church that is poor and for the poor! Afterwards, people were making various comments: 'You should call yourself Hadrian because Hadrian VI was a reformer. We need reform.' And someone else said to me: 'No, no, your name should be Clement.' …'But why?' 'Clement XV so you can pay back Clement XIV who suppressed the Society of Jesus!' These were the jokes."

“I wish the best for you, I thank you for everything that you have done. And I think of your work: I wish you to work fruitfully and with serenity and to always know better the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the reality of the Church. I entrust you to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Star of evangelization. I I wish the best for you and your families, for each of your families, and I wholeheartedly impart to all of you the blessing.”

After personally greeting some of the journalists present, Pope Francis, in Spanish, concluded: “I told you I wholeheartedly imparted my blessing. Many of you don't belong to the Catholic Church, others are not believers. From my heart I impart this blessing, in silence, to each of you, respecting the conscience of each one, but knowing that each of you is a child of God: May God bless you.”

HOLY FATHER PROVISIONALLY CONFIRMS HEADS AND MEMBERS OF ROMAN CURIA

Vatican City, 16 March 2013 (VIS) – Holy Father Francis has expressed the desire that the Heads and members of the Dicasteries of the Roman Curia, as well as their Secretaries, and also the President of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State, continue "donec aliter provideatur", that is, provisionally, in their respective positions.

The Holy Father wishes to reserve time for reflection, prayer, and dialogue before any final appointments or confirmations are made.

POPE VISITS CARDINAL MEJIA IN HOSPITAL

Vatican City, 16 March 2013 (VIS) – Yesterday afternoon, Pope Francis paid a visit to Cardinal Jorge Mejia in the Pius XI private clinic. Cardinal Mejia, who is 90 years old, is archivist and librarian emeritus of the Holy Roman Church. The clinic's patients and personnel were very surprised by the encounter with the new pontiff and greeted him with warm applause. The Pope, in his address to the College of Cardinals yesterday in the Clementine Hall, informed them of the heart attack that the cardinal had suffered.

ACTIVITIES OF THE HOLY FATHER

Vatican City, 16 March 2013 (VIS) – Following is a list of the upcoming activities of the Holy Father scheduled between 17 and 24 March.

17 March, Sunday: 10:00am, private Mass in the Vatican parish of Santa Ana.
                              12:00pm, Angelus from the window of his private study overlooking St. Peter's Square.

18 March, Monday: 12:50pm, meeting with the President of the Republic of Argentina at the Domus Sancthae Marthae.

19 March, Tuesday: 9:30am, Eucharistic celebration to inaugurate the new pontiff's Petrine ministry in St. Peter's Square (Entrance into the square will be permitted beginning at 6:30am. No tickets will be issued for that Mass. All who wish may attend.) Afterwards, before the Altar of the Confession in the Basilica, he will receive the greetings of heads of official delegations and later will return to the Domus Sancthae Marthae for lunch.

20 March, Wednesday: 11:00am, audience with fraternal delegates in the Clementine Hall of the Vatican Apostolic Palace.

22 March, Friday: 11:00am, audience with members of the diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See in the Sala Regia of the Vatican Apostolic Palace.

23 March, Saturday: 12:00pm, departure in helicopter from the Vatican heliport. At 12:15pm he will meet and lunch with Pope emeritus Benedict XVI at Castel Gandolfo and will then return to the Vatican.

24 March, Sunday: 9:30am, Palm Sunday Eucharistic celebration in St. Peter's Square.
                               12:00pm, Angelus.

POPE FRANCIS TO CARDINALS: LIKE GOOD WINE THAT IMPROVES WITH AGE, LET US OLD FOLKS GIVE YOUTH THE WISDOM OF LIFE

Vatican City, 15 March 2013 (VIS) – “Courage, dear brothers! Probably half of us are in our old age. Old age, they say, is the seat of wisdom. The old ones have the wisdom that they have earned from walking through life. Like old Simeon and Anna at the temple whose wisdom allowed them to recognize Jesus. Let us give with wisdom to the youth: like good wine that improves with age, let us give the youth the wisdom of our lives.”

This is how Pope Francisco addressed the cardinals this morning in the Clementine Hall at his first meeting with the entire College of Cardinals, electors and non-electors. The pontiff improvised at several times during his talk, such as when he informed them that, the day before yesterday, Cardinal Jorge Maria Mejia, archivist emeritus of the Vatican Secret Archives, suffered a heart attack and is now recovering at the Pius XI private clinic. “His condition is stable and he sent his greetings to us all.”

Before beginning his address, the Pope listened to the greeting that Cardinal Angelo Sodano, dean of the College of Cardinals, read to him on behalf of the entire College. “We give thanks to the Lord our God. This is the liturgical invitation that we, the Cardinal Fathers address to one another, between the 'seniors' and the 'juniors', to thank the Lord for the gift that He has made to His Holy Church, giving us a new Shepherd. … Know, Holy Father, that all of us, your cardinals, are at your full disposal, seeking to build with you the apostolic cenacle of the nascent Church, the Upper Room of Pentecost. We will try to keep 'an open mind and a believing heart', as you wrote in your book of meditations.”

During his address, Pope Francis affirmed that today's encounter “seeks to be almost an extension of the intense ecclesial communion experienced in this period. Enlivened by a profound sense of responsibility and supported by a great love for Christ and the Church, we have prayed together, sharing our fraternal feelings, our experiences and reflections. A mutual understanding and openness has brown in this climate of great cordiality. This is good because we are brothers. Someone said to me: 'The cardinals are the Holy Father's priests.' But we are that community, that friendship, that closeness that will do us all well. And this knowledge, this mutual openness have facilitated our docility to the Holy Spirit. He, the Paraclete, is the supreme protagonist of every initiative and expression of faith.” He then added: “It's curious: It makes me think that the Paraclete makes all the differences in the Churches and seems to be an apostle of Babel. But, on the other hand, [the Holy Spirit] is the one who makes unity of these differences, not in equality, but in harmony. I remember the Church Father who defined it thus: 'Ipse harmonia est.' This Paraclete who gives, to each of us, different gifts, unites us in this Church community that worships the Father, the Son, and Him, the Holy Spirit.”

The Holy Father noted that “the period of the Conclave was full of meaning, not only for the College of Cardinals, but also for all the faithful. In these days we felt, almost tangibly, the affection and solidarity of the universal Church, as well as the attention of many people who, although they do not share our faith, look to the Church and the Holy See with respect and admiration.” At the same time he expressed his gratitude to all the cardinals for their cooperation in the Church's functions during the Sede Vacante. He especially thanked Cardinal Sodano for “his words of devotion and for the well wishes that he extended to me [on behalf of the cardinals]” and Cardinal Camerlengo Tarcisio Bertone, S.D.B., “for his thoughtful work in this delicate phase of transition”. He also thanked Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, cardinal dean of the Conclave “who was our boss in the Conclave: thank you very much!”

He then continued: “I think with great affection and deep gratitude of my venerable predecessor, Benedict XVI, who during these years of his pontificate has enriched and strengthened the Church with his teaching, his goodness, his guidance, his faith, his humility, and his gentleness, which will remain a spiritual heritage for all. He noted that, “as Pope Benedict XVI reminded us so often in his teachings and most recently with his brave and humble gesture, Christ is the one who guides the Church through His Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the soul of the Church, with his life-giving force that unifies one body from many: the mystical Body of Christ.”

“Let us never give in to pessimism, to that bitterness that the devil offers us every day. Do not give in to pessimism and discouragement. We have the firm certainty that the Holy Spirit gives the Church with His mighty breath, the courage to persevere and also to seek new methods of evangelization, to bring the Gospel to the ends of the earth. The Christian truth is attractive and persuasive because it responds to the deep needs of human existence, convincingly announcing that Chirst is the only Saviour of the whole person and of all persons. This announcement is as valid today as it was at the beginning of Christianity when there was a great missionary expansion of the Gospel.

“Now,” he finished, “return to your Sees to continue your ministry enriched by the experience of these days that have been so full of faith and ecclesial communion. This unique and incomparable experience has allowed us to understand in depth the beauty of ecclesial reality, which is a reflection of the splendour of the Risen Christ. One day we'll look upon that beautiful face of the Risen Christ.”

On finishing his address, the Pope greeted, one by one, all the cardinals present in the Clementine Hall personally.