FRANCIS IN ROME •
Pope Francis joyfully welcomed the participants in the General Chapter of the Society of the Catholic Apostolate, better known as the Pallottine Fathers, together with other members that share the apostolate and charism of St. Vincent Pallotti on the morning of 10 October. Schoenstatt was born out of the Society of the Catholic Apostolate, took up much of the vision and objectives of St. Vincent Pallotti. The gift of the Original Shrine by the Pallottines on the eve of the jubilee of the Covenant of Love, will forever be the reason for our gratitude and prayers for the Society of the Catholic Apostolate.
“Contemplating the life of Jesus and looking at our lives as pilgrims through this world with its many challenges, we feel the need for a deep conversion and the urgency to revive our faith in Him. Only in this way can we serve our neighbours in charity! Every day, we are called to renew our trust in Christ and draw inspiration from his life to achieve our mission.”
The Holy Father highlighted that Pallotti’s charism is a “precious gift from the Holy Spirit because he awoke and continues to awaken various forms of apostolic life and urges the faithful to commit themselves actively in proclaiming the Gospel.”
“Your founder understood that in order to live in communion with God, it is necessary to place Jesus Christ at the centre, ‘the divine role model for every human being,'” he said, remembering the words of the founder, of whom he said that he had the “gift of recognizing that Jesus is the Father’s Apostle, great in love and rich in mercy…He is the one who carries out the mission of revealing the tender love and the Father’s infinite mercy to everyone,” he added.
“This same mystery of God’s fatherhood which opens up for each person, through the work of the Son, a heart full of love and compassion, takes on a new meaning in our times.
“Before our very eyes, we see daily scenes of violence, faces without mercy, hearts that are hardened and desolate,” he lamented. “We have such great need to remember that Father, whose heart thinks of everyone, wants the salvation of every person.”
The Bishop of Rome referred directly to the members of the Chapter that met with him and said that “each member of your Pallottine family is called to put Christ at the centre of his own life and follow him faithfully.”
He also encouraged them to “continue on your way with joy and hope, committing yourselves and your efforts wholeheartedly so that the charism of your founder can produce abundant fruit in our time.” He also said that the “Union of the Catholic Apostolic bears the charism of Vincent Pallotti, offers many spaces and opens new horizons to participate in the Church’s mission.”
They are called, concluded the Pope “to work with renewed vigour to awaken the faith and give new life to charity, especially among the most vulnerable and poor people, both materially and spiritually. In this, you can be compared with the example of so many brothers, true witnesses of the Gospel who dedicated their lives to the service of others.”
One 1 October, the General Assembly re-elected Fr. Jacob Nampudakam as the Rector General of the Society.
More: sac.info
With material from AciPrensa, Aica and sac.info
Original: Spanish. Translation: Sarah-Leah Pimentel, Cape Town, South Africa
