ARRIVAL IN SULMONA
With Mons. Spina, Bishop of Sulmona-Valva.
Some townsfolk chose to see the Holy Father first from the grandstand of the sportsfield where his helicopter landed.
The Holy Father Benedict XVI arrived by helicopter in Sulmona at 9:30 this morning after an overflight of Eremo San Onofrio and the Abbazia Santo Spirito on the slope and foothills of Mount Morrone overlooking Sulmona.
The hermitage and the abbey are both important places in the life of the Benedictine monk, abbot and hermit Pietro Angeliero later known as Pietro del Morrone because he spent much of his latter hermit's life on Mt. Morrone.
He was around 85 when a delegation came to inform him at his hermitage that a conclave in Perugia had elected him Pope. He took the name Celestine V, but resigned after five months, citing the following reasons: "the desire for humility, for a purer life, for a stainless conscience; the deficiencies of his own physical strength, his ignorance; his longing for the tranquility of his former life".
In the sportsfield, a young mother approached the Popemobile to have her 50-day-old baby blessed by the Pope.
Benedict XVI travelled by Popemobile to Piazza Garibaldi, in the historic center of Sulmona, where he was welcomed by the Mayor and the Bishop at a brief formal ceremony, and then concelebrated Mass.
The mayor of Sulmona welcomes the Pope.
MASS AT PIAZZA GARIBALDI
Libretto llustrations: Left, St. Pietro Celestino, Fresco, 14th-cent., Eremo S. Onofrio, Sulmona; right, 15th-cent Crucifix, Co-Cathedral of San Pelino.
Here is a translation of the Holy Father's homily:
Dear brothers and sisters:
I am very happy to be with you today to celebrate with you and for you this solemn Eucharist. I greet your Pastor, Mons. Angelo Spina, and I thank him for the warm words of welcome addressed to me in the name of everyone, and for the gifts he offered that I appreciate highly in that they represent 'signs' - as he called them - of the affective adn effective communion that binds the people of this beloved land of Abruzzo to the Successor of Peter.
I a=greet the Arcbishops and Bishops present, the priests, religious, and representives of church associations and religious movements.
I address a special greeting to the Mayor, Pablo Federico, with gratitude for his kind greeting; ti the representive of the Italian government, and to civilian and military authorities present.
And a special thanks to all who generously offered their collaboration for the realization of this pastoral visit.
Dear brothers and sisters: I came to share with you the joys and hopes, the labors and commitments, the ideals and aspirations, of this diocesan community.
I know very well that Sulmona does not lack for difficulties, problems and concerns. I think specially of those who concretely live in precarious conditions because of lack of work, uncertainty for the future, physical and moral suffering, and - as the Bishop reminded us - a sense of disorientation following the earthquake of April 6, 2009.
I wish to assure everyone of my closeness to you and that I remember you in my prayers, even as I encourage you to persevere in bearing witness to humana nd Chsristian values that are so profoundly rooted in faith and in the history of this territory and its population.
Dear friends, my visit takes place on the occasion of the special Jubilee year decreed by the Bishops of the Abruzzo and Molise regions to celebrate the 800th anniversary of the birth of San Pietro Celestino.
Flying over your territory this morning, I was able to contemplate the beauty of the landscape ,and above all, to admire some sites closely linked to the life of this illustrious figure: Monte Morrone, where Pietro led a hermit's life for so long; the Eremo Sant'Onofrio, where in 1294, he received the news of his election as Supreme Pontiff by the conclave in perguia; and the Abbazia Santo Spirito, whose main altar he consecrated after his coronation at the Basilica of Collemaggio in L'Aquila.
In April last year, after the earthquake that devastated the region, I went to that Basilica to venerate his remains and leave in homage the pallium I received at the start of my Pontificate.
Eight hundred years have passed since the birth of San Pietro Celestino, but he remains in history for the well-known events of his time and his pontificate, but above all, for his holiness.
Indeed, holiness never loses its attractive force, it does not fall into oblivion, it never goes out of fashion, but rather, with the passing of time, it shines forth with ever greater luminosity, expressing the perennial tension of man towards God.
From the life of San Pietro Celestino, I wish to draw some teachings that are valid even in our day.
Pietro Angelerio was a 'searcher for God' since his youth, a man who
sought answers to the great questions of existence: who am I, where do I come from, why do I live, who do I live for?
He set forth on a quest for truth and happiness, on a search for God, and in order to listen to his voice, he decided to leave the world and live as a hermit.
Silence thus became the element that characterized his daily life. It is precisely in exterior silence, but above all, in interior silence, that he succeeded in perceiving the voice of God which would orient his life.
There's a first aspect here which is important to us: We live in a society in which it seems that every space, every moment, must be 'filled' with initiatives, activities, sounds. Often, there is no time to listen aor to talk to each other.
Dear brothers and sisters! Let us not be afraid of making silence outside and within us, if we want to be able not just to perceive the voice of God but also the voice of those who are around us, the voice of others.
It is important to underscore a second element: the discovery of God by Pietro Angelerio was not the result of his efforts, but was made possible by the grace of God himself who allowed it. What he had, what he was, did not come from himself - they were given to him, as grace, and therefore, it was also a responsibility before God and to others.
Although our life is very different, the sasme thing goes for us: all the essentials of our existence were given to us without our contribution.
The fact that I live does not depend on me. The fact that there were persons who brought me to life, who taught me what it is to love and be loved, who trasnmitted the faith to me and opened my eyes to God - all this is grace. None of it was done by me.
By ourselves we cannot do anything if it is not given to us: God always anticipates everything for us, and in every individual life, there is something gf beauty and goodness that we easily recognize as his grace, like a ray of light from his infinite goodness.
That is why we should be attentive, we should always have our 'interior eyes' open, the eyes of the heart. If we learn to know God in his infinite goodness, then we shall also be able to see, with wonder, in our lives - as the saints did - the signs of God who is always near us, who is always good to us, who tells us, "Have faith in me!"
In interior silence, in the perception of God's presence, Pietro del Morrone also matured an active experience of the beauty of Creation, God's handiwork: he knew to grasp its profound sense, to respect its signs and rhythms, using them for what is essential to life.
I know that this local Church, as the other churches in thr Abruzzo and Molise, are actively engaged in a campaign of sensitizing the faithful to promote the common good and to safeguard Creation: I encourage you in this effort and I call on everyone to feel responsible for his own future, as for that of others, in respecting and protecting Creation - fruit and sign of God's love.
In the second reading today, taken from the Letter to the Galatians, we heard a very beautiful statement by St. Paul which is also a perfect spiritual portrait of San Pietro Celestino: "May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world" (Gal 6,14).
Truly, the Church was the center of his life - she gave him the strenght necessary to bear his harsh penitences and his most demanding momments, from his youth to the very end: He was always conscious that salvation came from the Cross. It also gave him a clear consciousness of sin, always with an equally clear consciousness of God's infinite mercy towards his creatures.
Looking at the wide-open arms of the Crucified Lord, he felt himself carried along in the infinite ocean of God's love. As a priest, he experienced the beauty of being an administrator of this mercy when he absolved penitents of their sins.
And when he was elected to the Chair of Peter, he granted the special indulgence of 'La perdonanza'. [It is a plenary indulgence to anyone who comes to the Basilica of Santa Maria in Collemaggio between sundown of August 28 to sundown of August 29 in prayer and penitence. It was patterned after the indulgence that Francis of Assisi had requested from the Pope in his time for penitents who visit the Porciuncula chapel between the afternoon of August 1 and sundown on August 2 - an indulgence gradually extended by subsequent Popes to all the churches of the Franciscan order.]
I wish to call on priests to be clear and credible witnesses of this good news of reconciliation with God, helping men of today to recover a sense of sin and God's forgiveness, in order that they may experience that super-abundant joy of which the prophet Isaiah speaks in the first reading today (cfr Is 66,10-14).
Finally, a last element: San Pietro Celestino, although he lived as a hermit, was not 'closed into himself', but was gripped by the passion of bringing the good news of the Gospel to his brothers. The secret of his pastoral fecundity was precisely in 'staying' with God in prayer, as the Gospel passage today also reminds us: the first imperative is always to pray to the Lord of harvests (cfr Lk 10,2).
It was only after this invitation that Jesus defined some essential tasks of the disciple: the announcement - calm, clear and courageous - of the evangelical message, even in moments of persecution, without yielding either to the fascination of fashion, violence or imposition; a detachment from concern for material things - money and dress - but trusting in the Providence of God; attention and care of those who are sick in the body and in spirit (cfr Lk 10,6-9).
These, too, were the characteristics of the brief and tortured Pontificate of Celestine V, and these are the characteristics of the Church's missionary activity in every age.
Dear brothers and sisters! I am among you to confirm you in the faith. I wish to exhort you, forcefully and affectionately, to remain firm in the faith that you received which gives sense to life and gives us the strength to love.
May you be accompanied in this journey by the example and intercession of the Mother of God and of San Pietro Celestino. Amen.
Before the Mass ended, the Holy Father led the Angelus prayers and had this message:
At the end of this solemn celebration, at the usual time on Sundays, I invite you to recite with me the Angelus prayer.
To the Virgin Mary, whom you venerate with particular devotion in the Shrine of the Madonna della Libera, I entrust the Church of Sulmona-Valva: the Bishop, the priests and all the people of God.
May you walk united and joyous along the way of faith, hope and charity. Faithful to the legacy of San Pietro Celestino, may you always bring together evangelical radicalness and mercy so that everyone who seeks God may find him.
In Mary, Virgin of silence and listening, San Pietro del Morrone found the perfect model of obedience to the divine will, in a simple and humble life, projected towards the search for that which is truly essential, always capable of thanking the Lord and recognizing in everything the gift of his goodness.
Even we, who live in an age of great comforts and possibilities, are called to appreciate a moderate lifestyle in order to keep the heart and mind more free and to be able to share what is good with our brothers.
Most Blessed Mary, who animated with your maternal presence the first community of Jesus's disciples, help the Church of today to bear good witness to the Gospel.
After the Mass, the Pope travelled by car to the Casa Sacerdotale (House of Priests) in Sulmona's Diocesan Pastoral Center to lunch with the bishops of the Abruzzo region and for a brief mid-afternonn rest.
Later, he was to inaugurate the Casa Sacerdotale, a facility for sick and aged priests, which, after recent restoration work, will be named Casa Sacerdotale Benedetto XVI.
At 4:30, before leaving the Casa Sacerdotale, the Holy Father will greet the members of the organizing committee for the visit, after which he was to meet with a delegation from the Casa Circondariale (municipal jail) of Sulmona - its director, Sergio Romano; its chaplain, Fr. Frnaco Messori; and representatives of the custodial force and of the detainees.
Afterwards, he will proceed by Popemobile to the Catehdral for a meeting with the youth of the diocese.
Pope praises life of
13th-century pontiff
Two Popes at a Mass: Benedict XVI's Mass in Sulmona today was offered in the presence of the glass urn containing the mortal remains of Celestine V.
SULMONA, Italy, July 4 (AP) — Pope Benedict XVI traveled to a central Italian town Sunday to pay homage to Celestine V, saying the simple lifestyle of the 13th-century hermit who resigned the papacy can serve as an example for modern men and women.
Benedict praised his predecessor for his detachment from material things such as money and clothes.
"We, too, who live in an epoch of greater comfort and possibilities, are called upon to appreciate a sober lifestyle," the Pope said.
Benedict, at times wiping his forehead, conducted an open-air Mass in hot weather before thousands of faithful in one of Sulmona's main squares.
In modern society, Benedict told them, "it seems that every space, every moment must be filled with initiatives, activities, sounds. Often there isn't even the time to listen."
"Let's not fear the silence inside and outside of us," he said.
The Pope also sought to encourage those still suffering from the earthquake that struck this region in April 2009. He said he prays for those who live "in precarious conditions because of the lack of a job, uncertainty over the future, physical and moral suffering and ... a sense of loss due to the quake."
The temblor killed some 300 people and drove thousands away from their homes. Benedict had visited the region soon afterward, praying before the salvaged remains of Celestine.
Celestine V assumed the papacy in 1294 at age 85 and resigned five months later, saying he was not up to the task. He was later put under guard for fear he would become the rallying point for a schism.
Celestine died in 1296 and was declared a saint in 1313.
During his daylong visit, Benedict meets with bishops from the region and local youths before going back to the Vatican.
The ANSA news agency reported that an unauthorized man was stopped by the Pope's security guards as he was seeking to approach the stage where Benedict was celebrating Mass. The man got nowhere near the pontiff, who continued officiating undisturbed, and was quickly escorted outside the piazza, ANSA said.
On Christmas Eve, Benedict was knocked down by a woman during a Mass at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, but the Pontiff was not hurt.
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 05/07/2010 13:00]