ANGELUS TODAY
After the Mass this morning, the Holy Father cmae out to the front steps of St. Peter in order to lead the Sunday noon Angelus prayers.
This is what he said in English:
I am happy to greet all the English-speaking visitors present today in Saint Peter’s Square.
We have just concluded the Second Special Assembly for Africa of the Synod of Bishops which has been a period of grace. I invite all of you to pray for our brothers and sisters of Africa.
May the Lord, who granted sight to the blind man of the Gospel, renew their faith that they may always see and follow clearly the path of reconciliation, justice and peace which leads to salvation.
Upon all of you and upon all the people of Africa I invoke God’s abundant blessings.
Here is a translation of the Holy Father's words:
Dear brothers and sisters:
Just now, with the Eucharistic celebration in St. Peter's Basilica, we concluded the second special assembly for Africa of the Bishops' Synod.
Three weeks of prayer and listening to each other, to discern what the Holy Spirit is saying today to the Church on the African continent, but also to the universal Church.
The Synodal fathers, coming from all the nations of Africa, presented the rich reality of their local Churches. Together, we shared their joy at the dynamism of their Christian communities who continue to grow in quntity and quality.
We are grateful to God for the missionary impulse which has found fertile ground in numerous dioceses and which is expressed in sending missionaries to other African nations and other continents.
Particular attention was given to the family, which even in Africa, constitutes the primary cell of society, but which is threatened today by ideological currents coming from the outside world.
What can we say about the young people expposed to this kind of pressure, who are influenced by models of thought and behavior which are opposed to the human and Christian values of the African peoples?
Of course, the actual problems of Africa today emerged at the Synodal assembly, along with its great need for reconciliation, justice and peace. And to this, the Church responds, with a renewed thrust in its announcement of the Gospel and its activity of human promotion.
Inspired by the Word of God and the Eucharist, she is doing all she can so that no one may lack what is necessary to live, and that all may be able to lead an existence worthy of the human being.
Recalling the apostolic trip that I made to Cameroon and Angola last March, and which also had the purpose of starting off the immediate preparation for the second Synod for Africa, today I wish to address all the African populations, particularly those who share the Christian faith, in order to hand down to them ideally the final message of this Synodal assembly.
It is a message coming from Rome, seat of the Successor of Peter, who presides over the universal communion, but we can say, in a sense that is no less true, that it originated in Africa, from which it gathered experiences, expectations and plans, and now returns to Africa, carrying the riches of an event of profound communion in the Holy Spirit.
Dear brothers and sisters who are listening to me in Africa, I specially entrust to your prayers the fruits of the work of the Synodal fathers, and I encourage you with the words of the Lord Jesus: Be salt and light in the beloved land of Africa.
As this Synodal assembly ends, I wish to remind you that a special assembly for the Middle East of the Bishops' Synod is scheduled to take place next year. On the occasion of my visit to Cyprus, I will have the pleasure of presenting the Instrumentum laboris for that assembly.
Let us thank the Lord who never tires of edifying his Church in communion, and let us invoke with trust the maternal intercession of the Virgin Mary.
After the Agnelus prayers, he had this special message:
I now address a special greeting to the thousands of faithful gathered in Milan's Cathedral Square, where this morning, the liturgy of beatification was celebrated for the priest Don Carlo Gnocchi.
He was first of all a worthy educator of children and youth. During the Second World War, he became the chaplain of the Alpine guard, with whom he made the tragic retreat from Russia, escaping death miraculously.
It was then that he planned to dedicate himself entirely to work of charity. Thus, in the Milan of the reconstruction period, Don Gnocchi worked 'to restore the human person', gathering together orphaned and mutilated children, offering them assistance and education.
He gave his all to the very end, and when he died, he donated his corneas to two blind children. His work continues to develop through the Fondazione Don Gnocchi which is in the forefront of care for persons of all ages who require rehablitation therapy.
As I greet Cardinal Tettamanzi, Archbishop of Milan, and rejoice with the entire Ambrosian Church, I make mine the motto of this beatification, "Always for life!"
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 25/10/2009 17:42]