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Pope Francis’ address to the Cooperative Supermarket of the Virgin of Sorrows, Granada, Spain
Paul VI Hall = Saturday, January 11, 2025
A few cartons of milk. Half a kilo of onions. A loaf of wholemeal bread. “Do you need a bag?” “Yes, please.”
And the bag says “Cooperative” – supermarkets of all the life.
for daily shoppers. for forgetful shoppers. for those who know the neighborhood and the village.
A dose of the Church’s Social Doctrine is the acronym that hides behind it.
Dear Brothers and Sisters:
It is a pleasure for me to meet with you today, on the happy occasion of the 65th anniversary of the foundation of the Cooperative of the Virgin of Sorrows.
I have read with interest the work that you do as a company and as a foundation.
This binomial seems important to me, because the first help we can give to society is to give value to the goods we have, with a professional service that meets the people’s needs and allows a sustainable development.
From there, we can offer our help to those who need further support because of natural disasters, war, disability or social exclusion.
You have set out to achieve both of these standards, and I think it is a good goal.
In fact, this whole project is already outlined in the word COVIRAN (Cooperative of the Virgin of Sorrows), since its foundation.
The first thing is to cooperate, to work together, to join forces, to form a mosaic in which everyone is important, but at the same time aware that it is in the whole that the beauty of the work can be perceived.
Secondly, the Virgin Mary, our Mother, the motive and model of this effort, to entrust ourselves to her with devotion in this endeavor, and at the same time to imitate her in the spirit that should preside over our work.
What better slogan for an institution like yours, when people could say that they have been treated “as a mother would have treated her”?
Thirdly, the anxieties.
You are all familiar with the image that presides over the Basilica of Our Lady of Sorrows.
Instead of the traditional depiction of the descent from the Cross, in which Mary embraces her Son, Our Mother is shown lying on a table in front of Christ.
This table on which Jesus lies is presented to us as a task: to place on the bench of our institution, in the office of the office, the pain of the world that Jesus carried to Calvary.
It is Him we serve, it is Him we support in our initiatives, and we want to do it like His Blessed Mother, knowing how to be moved by His pain.
May Jesus bless you and the Blessed Virgin protect you. Thank you very much.
