Francis – Initiatives and Gestures Category

org. “But the task remains: we move forward with prayer and works of peace. I invite you to continue to pray so that the violence and devastation in Syria may cease immediately."  "The search for peace is long and demands patience and perseverance!"  In an urgent call at a time of fervent prayer for peace in Syria, the Middle East and the whole world, the Holy Father highlighted, before the Angelus, to Catholics and pilgrims from different parts of the world - that "this Word of the Lord affects usRead More
org. The day of fasting and prayer for peace in Syria, Middle East and the entire world, called by Pope Francis last Sunday, has begun. "All men and women of good will are bound by the task of pursuing peace", Francis twittered yesterday. From shrines and wayside shrines in the whole world, Schoenstatt is participating. The day began at midnight in the Shrine in Madrid, Serrano, with a night vigil...    Read More
org. "No more wars!”  The cry of millions of men and women of the Earth, who struggle against  that which is possibly – inevitable? Military intervention in Syria is also the cry of Pope Francis, who has convoked a vigil of fasting and prayer for peace this Saturday, September 7th at the Vatican.  It is a convocation which the entire Catholic Church in the Middle East joins.  It is a convocation that has had strong repercussion in the Focolare,Saint Egidio and the Communion and Liberation Movements that have convoked theirRead More
Pope Francis, Angelus. Dear Brothers and Sisters, Hello! Today, dear brothers and sisters, I wish to make add my voice to the cry which rises up with increasing anguish from every part of the world, from every people, from the heart of each person, from the one great family which is humanity: it is the cry for peace! It is a cry which declares with force: we want a peaceful world, we want to be men and women of peace, and we want in our Read More
ARGENTINA, mca. Attentive to Pope Francis' repeated call, the Campaign from Argentina demonstrates how it responds in every sense - as long as it embodies John Pozzobon's spirit and it is loyal to its origin's. Thus the danger of modifying or distorting this spirit that John gave it, just as it is reflected in the Document of Consensus 1989 that was approved by the General Council: "The Campaign is not an efficient pastoral methodology. It is a process of life that emerged from the eruption of graces fromRead More
org. Sometimes a clean-up operation unearths unexpected treasures. When she was sorting a pile of papers dating from the time before computers, Claudia Echenique in Buenos Aires (collaborator with schoenstatt.org) found a sermon by Archbishop Jorge Mario Bergoglio given in 1999. It was given at a Mass for the Lay Movements, and Schoenstatter were also present. In 1999 Bergoglio was not yet a Cardinal and had only been the Archbishop of Buenos Aires for a year. Archbishop Bergoglio spoke about Moses' petition to God, "Let us be your heritage" (ExRead More
ARGENTINA, mda. "As every year, after having gone through the queue, I speak with you. This time I went through the queue with my heart. I'm a bit far away and I can't share with you this very lovely moment -- this moment in which you are walking towards the image of Saint Cajetan." These were the words of Pope Francis in his video message to the thousands of pilgrim who queued up, often for many hours, in order to reach the shrine of the Patron of bread and workRead More
mda. “In conclusion, he asked us all a question:  “Why are youths dying in the street, hungry?  He then told us that when we had the answer, when our heart begins to cry, we will be there, closer to God,” narrated a young Columbian woman who works as a volunteer in Río and who was invited to lunch with Francis on Friday.  Pope Francis in Río, there are no longer events, there are no longer testimonies, there are no more acts, words, gentures:  it is already a feeling, theRead More
mda. “A new sun rises over the New Civilization that is born tody.  A chain stronger than hate and than death:  We know it:  The road is Love…”  This was the song that greeted Francis in his warm, spontatneous and long awaited encounter with his Argentinean young people, a song that does not seem to want to end:  The road is love…a song that seems to be the program of this week in Rio that seems like a year because it has provoked so many and such profound changes inRead More
WYD-BRAZIL, Sarah-Leah Pimentel. World Youth Day is in my blood. After having been a WYD Schoenstatt volunteer in 2005, I observe WYD activities with special interest. And Rio 2013 is no different. In addition to that, many of my friends are in Rio and provide regular updates on Facebook and Twitter, making it easier to feel what is happening on the ground. The WYD Rio 2013 social media campaign has also been extraordinary in keeping us in touch with what Pope Francis is doing and saying. But best of all,Read More