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Pope Francis Address to Italian Pilgrims of the Camino de Santiago,
cared for by the Don Guanella Works of Charity
Saint Peter’s Basilica – Thursday, 19 December 2024
Three Signs: Silence, the Gospel, and doing good to the most disadvantaged people
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
I have the pleasure of welcoming you, Italian pilgrims of the Way of St. James, at the Tomb of Peter.
I see that you are very numerous, thank you. Welcome!
I welcome Archbishop Francisco Prieto Fernández of Santiago de Compostela.
I greet the Superior General of the Guanellian Fathers and the members of the Guanellian family – so many of them – who for nearly fifteen years have worked in that Church of Galizia, both in Santiago and Finisterre, to provide spiritual welcome for pilgrims.
And you pilgrims are something of a living proof of their apostolic commitment.
I also greet the Confraternity of Saint James of Perugia, present here with the spiritual assistant, Archbishop Paolo Giulietti of Lucca; they too are engaged in this service of evangelization.
It is interesting to see how the number of pilgrims to Santiago has grown over the last thirty years.
And among these there are also my predecessors St. John Paul II and Benedict XVI, who wished to visit the Shrine, especially because of its great prominence in the Christian history of Europe.
This numerical growth is a very positive fact, and at the same time it poses a serious question: are the people who complete the Way of Saint James carrying out a true pilgrimage?
This is the question we must answer. Or is it something else?
Obviously, there are different experiences, but the question makes us reflect.
We can recognize the Christian pilgrimage to the Tombs of the Apostles from three signs.
The first is silence, the first sign.
The Way lived in silence allows one to listen, to listen with the heart, and in this way to find, while one walks, through the effort, the answers that the heart is looking for, because the heart asks questions. Indeed, God speaks in silence, like a gentle breeze; remember the story of Elijah (cf. I Kings 19:9-13 – 9 And there he came to a cave, and lodged there; and behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said to him, “What are you doing here, Eli′jah?” 10 He said, “I have been very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the people of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thy altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.” 11 And he said, “Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; 12 and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice. 13 And when Eli′jah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, there came a voice to him, and said, “What are you doing here, Eli′jah?).
In the second place, the Gospel – silence, the Gospel – always have the Gospel in your pocket, I recommend this; buy a small pocket edition and keep it in your pocket and read something every day: open it up like this and read. It is a good way to pray.
A pocket Gospel, it costs nothing, but if someone cannot pay for it I will pay, just ask me … [laughter].
But it is important to keep the Gospel in your pocket.
The pilgrimage is made by re-reading the journey that Jesus took, up to the extreme gift of Self.
The way is far more true, far more Christian, the more it leads one to come out of oneself and to give oneself freely, in service to neighbor.
And the Holy Spirit does this when we read the Gospel every day.
Because something happens, I will explain it to you.
We can read a good novel, it will perhaps do us good, we can read the news every day, some of it makes us weep, but we can read; but when one reads the Gospel, there is someone beside us.
It is the Holy Spirit. It is He who makes us understand well what the Gospel does.
And He does it, the Holy Spirit.
The third element – silence, the Gospel, and the third, “Matthew 25 Protocol”: “Whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me” (Mt 25:40).
Silence, the Gospel, and doing good, to people who also smaller, the most disadvantaged people.
Always do good. Along the way, be attentive to others, especially those who struggle the most, who have fallen, who are in need… St. Luigi Guanella used to say that the purpose of the life of those who believe is to make sure that no-one is left behind.
Dear friends of the Way of St. James, I encourage you in this, your apostolate of evangelization and care. The ancient pilgrims teach us that, from Christian pilgrimages, one returns an apostle!
I make a pilgrimage and return as an apostle to proclaim Jesus.
May the Holy Family of Nazareth, pilgrims in the land of Palestine, be an example to us in this time of expectation.
Thank you for coming! I like this and I thank you very much, and I say this from my heart.
I bless you and pray for you. And you too, please, pray for me.
Do you understand? But pray hard, pray!Pope Francis Address to Italian Pilgrims of the Camino de Santiago,
cared for by the Don Guanella Works of Charity
Saint Peter’s Basilica – Thursday, 19 December 2024
Three Signs: Silence, the Gospel, and doing good to the most disadvantaged people
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
I have the pleasure of welcoming you, Italian pilgrims of the Way of St. James, at the Tomb of Peter.
I see that you are very numerous, thank you. Welcome!
I welcome Archbishop Francisco Prieto Fernández of Santiago de Compostela.
I greet the Superior General of the Guanellian Fathers and the members of the Guanellian family – so many of them – who for nearly fifteen years have worked in that Church of Galizia, both in Santiago and Finisterre, to provide spiritual welcome for pilgrims.
And you pilgrims are something of a living proof of their apostolic commitment.
I also greet the Confraternity of Saint James of Perugia, present here with the spiritual assistant, Archbishop Paolo Giulietti of Lucca; they too are engaged in this service of evangelization.
It is interesting to see how the number of pilgrims to Santiago has grown over the last thirty years.
And among these there are also my predecessors St. John Paul II and Benedict XVI, who wished to visit the Shrine, especially because of its great prominence in the Christian history of Europe.
This numerical growth is a very positive fact, and at the same time it poses a serious question: are the people who complete the Way of Saint James carrying out a true pilgrimage?
This is the question we must answer. Or is it something else?
Obviously, there are different experiences, but the question makes us reflect.
We can recognize the Christian pilgrimage to the Tombs of the Apostles from three signs.
The first is silence, the first sign.
The Way lived in silence allows one to listen, to listen with the heart, and in this way to find, while one walks, through the effort, the answers that the heart is looking for, because the heart asks questions. Indeed, God speaks in silence, like a gentle breeze; remember the story of Elijah (cf. I Kings 19:9-13 – 9 And there he came to a cave, and lodged there; and behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said to him, “What are you doing here, Eli′jah?” 10 He said, “I have been very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the people of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thy altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.” 11 And he said, “Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; 12 and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice. 13 And when Eli′jah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, there came a voice to him, and said, “What are you doing here, Eli′jah?).
In the second place, the Gospel – silence, the Gospel – always have the Gospel in your pocket, I recommend this; buy a small pocket edition and keep it in your pocket and read something every day: open it up like this and read. It is a good way to pray.
A pocket Gospel, it costs nothing, but if someone cannot pay for it I will pay, just ask me … [laughter].
But it is important to keep the Gospel in your pocket.
The pilgrimage is made by re-reading the journey that Jesus took, up to the extreme gift of Self.
The way is far more true, far more Christian, the more it leads one to come out of oneself and to give oneself freely, in service to neighbor.
And the Holy Spirit does this when we read the Gospel every day.
Because something happens, I will explain it to you.
We can read a good novel, it will perhaps do us good, we can read the news every day, some of it makes us weep, but we can read; but when one reads the Gospel, there is someone beside us.
It is the Holy Spirit. It is He who makes us understand well what the Gospel does.
And He does it, the Holy Spirit.
The third element – silence, the Gospel, and the third, “Matthew 25 Protocol”: “Whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me” (Mt 25:40).
Silence, the Gospel, and doing good, to people who also smaller, the most disadvantaged people.
Always do good. Along the way, be attentive to others, especially those who struggle the most, who have fallen, who are in need… St. Luigi Guanella used to say that the purpose of the life of those who believe is to make sure that no-one is left behind.
Dear friends of the Way of St. James, I encourage you in this, your apostolate of evangelization and care. The ancient pilgrims teach us that, from Christian pilgrimages, one returns an apostle!
I make a pilgrimage and return as an apostle to proclaim Jesus.
May the Holy Family of Nazareth, pilgrims in the land of Palestine, be an example to us in this time of expectation.
Thank you for coming! I like this and I thank you very much, and I say this from my heart.
I bless you and pray for you. And you too, please, pray for me.
Do you understand? But pray hard, pray!
