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Image: The transept, detailed on the Majolica floor of the Cathedral of San lorenzo in Scala/
The image of little angels and floral decorations frame the grate,
the symbolic of the martyrdom of Saint Lorenzo
Message of the Holy Father to the meeting ”Instruments of Peace” in Scala’s Cathedral of San Lorenzo
Dear young people of the Amalfi Coast,
I address you with joy as you participate in the meeting ”Instruments of Peace” in the Cathedral of San Lorenzo in Scala.
I greet Archbishop Orazio Soricelli of Amalfi-Cava de’ Tirreni, the mayors, the institutions and the authorities present.
Dear young people, you have chosen a beautiful theme!
Dear young people, you have chosen a beautiful theme!
And the urgency we are experiencing with regard to the wars and the many people who every day lose their lives: children, the elderly, the young, men and women.
Jesus lives and He wants you to be alive!
Without peace, there is no life.
There is only death and destruction.
There are three sure ways to become instruments of peace:
1. Fill your day with gestures of peace.
In this ancient city of Scala, you can continue on the path of solidarity and dialogue initiated by Blessed Fra’ Gerardo Sasso, founder and first Grand Master of the Order of the Knights of Malta.
In a time of conflict he founded the first interreligious hospital in Jerusalem, around 1100 A.D.,.
Following his example, you too can build bridges of friendship and mutual solidarity.
Illuminate each hour of your day with a gesture of peace: a gesture of service, of tenderness, of forgiveness.
2. Pray with your heart for peace.
When we feel powerless in the face of the drama of world world, let us remember that “with God nothing will be impossible” (Lk 1:37).
We have a very powerful weapon, which is prayer. Let us use it!
Let us pray more for peace so that it may come soon.
Let us invoke it with faith and confidence!
Let us make a daily commitment to personal prayer for peace.
Come together to share moments of Eucharistic adoration before the Lord, King of Peace.
3. Live as pilgrims of hope.
With courage, do not tire of dreaming of just peace and fraternity, because this is also the Father’s dream’ that his children may be united and happy, recognizing each other as brothers and sisters. Look beyond the night! Do not give in to the idea that war can solve problems and lead to peace.
War is always a defeat. It is a shameful surrender to the forces of evil.
Let us remember all the victims, whom we must never forget, and may this remembrance truly open us to finding a way forward in the present on the path of reconciliation.
As I entrust you to the maternal intercession of Mary, Queen of Peace,
I bless you and I ask you, please, to pray for me.
Fraternally, Pope Francis
From Casa Santa Marta, 30 August 2024
