Pope: Loreto, a place where to draw strength and hope

Manuel Cubías – Vatican City

Pilgrimage site

Pope Francis delivered a speech before the ecclesiastical authorities, the Capuchin friars, the civil authorities and the faithful present at the shrine of Loreto. The pope signs in this place the apostolic exhortation "Christus vivit – Christ lives", fruit of the synod dedicated to young people.

Pope Francis thanked Bishop Fabio Dal Cin for his welcome, the Capuchin friars, the authorities and all the faithful. He stressed that the sanctuary has a special identity, it is a "privileged place to contemplate the mystery of the Incarnation of the Son of God." Here, in fact, the walls that, according to tradition, come from Nazareth, where the Blessed Virgin said her "yes", becoming the mother of Jesus, are preserved ".

Francisco, affirmed that he came as a pilgrim to this place, like many others, so he says: "I am also among them today, and I thank God for m & # 39; to have granted that exactly to the feast of the Annunciation ".

The Holy House, place of silence, prayer and youth

In his speech, the Pope described the Holy House as "an oasis of silence and piety, many come from Italy and the whole world to draw their strength and their hope, especially young people, families and to the sick.

The Holy House is home to the young, because here the Virgin Mary, the young woman full of grace, continues to speak to the new generations, accompanying them in the search for their own vocation. That's why I wanted to sign here the Apostolic Exhortation "Christus vivit – Christ lives", fruit of the Synod dedicated to young people.

Annunciation: listening, discernment, decision

For the pope, in the Annunciation, there appears the dynamic of the vocation, which manifests itself in the three moments that marked the synod: the first is listening. "The call to faith and a coherent path of Christian life or special dedication is a discreet but strong irruption of God into the life of a young man, to offer him his love as a gift.We must be ready and willing to listen and welcome the voice of God, who is not recognized in noise and agitation. "

The second moment of each vocation is discernment. The pope affirms that "it is the good attitude of the disciple: all human collaboration in the free initiative of God must be inspired by the deepening of his own capacities and attitudes, as well as by the awareness that it is always God who gives who acts, just as the poverty and smallness of those whom the Lord calls to follow him on the path of the Gospel are transformed into riches of the manifestation of the Lord and in power of the Almighty. "

Pope Francis affirms that the decision is the third stage that characterizes each Christian vocation: "It is the" yes "of total trust and total availability for the will of God.Mary is the model of each vocation and the 39, inspirer of all pastoral vocations.

Loreto, place at the service of vocations pastoral

The pope insists on the identity of this place: "I think of Loreto as a privileged place where young people can come in search of their vocation, at the school of Mary! A spiritual center at the service of the I hope that the "John Paul II" center will be revived in the service of the Church in Italy and in the world. "

Francisco emphasizes the importance of this place as a meeting place: "The Sanctuary of the Holy House of Loreto, also because of its geographical location in the center of the peninsula, lends itself to becoming, for the Church that is located in Italy, place of proposal for the continuation of the world meetings of young people and the family ".

Loreto at the service of the family and the sick

The Holy Father affirms that "the House of Mary is also the home of the family.In the delicate situation of the world today, the family based on the marriage between a man and a woman is important. and an essential mission ".

And he continued: "The home and the family are the first care of the sick person to love, support, encourage and take care of him, which is why the shrine of the Holy House is the symbol of every welcoming home and sanctuary of the sick. ".

Finally, the pope emphasized the Marian vocation of the sanctuary: to bring to our contemporaries the gospel of peace and life, often distracted, taken by earthly interests or plunged into an atmosphere of spiritual aridity. We need simple and wise people, humble and courageous, poor and generous. In short, people who, at the school of Mary, accept the gospel unreservedly in their lives.

The Pope said goodbye by invoking the Virgin Mary: "May Mary, the source of all consolation, bring help and comfort to all who participate in the trial." He then prayed Angelus with the community.