19861002 SJPII Address pilgrimage to Assisi

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Saint John Paul II Address to a pilgrimage from Calabria to Assisi

Rome, October 2, 1986

Venerable brothers in the Episcopate, dear brothers and sisters of Calabria:

1. I am sincerely happy to be able to meet you today, who are heading to Assisi to offer, on behalf of the entire Calabrian region, the oil for the lamp that burns perennially next to the tomb of Saint Francis. This is a significant gesture that each region performs in turn each year, to express the devotion of the entire Italian people to their great Patron Saint, so deeply linked to the history of Italy, the Church and humanity.

I cordially greet all those present here, with particular affection to the bishops, the presidents of the regional board and council, the mayors and the presidents of the provincial administrations of Catanzaro, Cosenza and Reggio Calabria.

Your bishops, in their recent message for the preparation of this Franciscan pilgrimage, have explained the symbolism of this annual offering: «The oil is the fruit of the land and our work, as we pray in the offertory of the Holy Mass. The oil spices, can serve as an ointment, feeds the flame that illuminates and warms. The figure of Saint Francis of Assisi also gives a Christian flavor to our human adventure. Bringing the evangelical beatitude of peace, he reconciles divided souls in the Church and in society.

The life and personality of the Poor Man of Assisi are extraordinarily rich in numerous aspects of Christian holiness; But undoubtedly one of the messages, inspired by the Gospel, that Saint Francis has lived in depth and that continues to resonate in the consciences of his contemporaries, is that of the urgency and desire for peace. When he, after the total and definitive choice of the vocation to which God had called him, passed through the cities and towns with his first disciples, or stopped in the squares and in the hamlets, he repeated the simple and sublime: "Peace and Good", which were intended to be not only an omen, but also a commitment that involved the listeners, often torn apart by divisions and reciprocal struggles: regions against regions, cities against cities, towns against towns and families against families; In medieval Italy the humble and modest word emerged and resonated, but strong with the power of the Gospel, of this man of God, in love with Lady Poverty, and who lived his brotherhood with everyone in an intense and original way.

This humble brother was seen and judged by his contemporaries as the “new man, sent into the world by heaven” (LM 12,8). And in the spirit of Christ, he even wanted to make himself available as a mediator between Christianity and Islam, going so far as to visit the Sultan of Egypt, Melek-el-Kamel, to present to him - like a true unarmed prophet - the message of the Son. of God incarnate.

2. Truly we can say that Saint Francis was not only a messenger, but, even more, a builder and agent of reconciliation and peace: "The Lord revealed to me - he says - that we should say this greeting: The Lord give you peace" ( Test 23). His biographer, Tomás de Celano, presents the Poor Man's behavior like this: «In every preaching he did, before proposing the word of God to those present, he wished them peace, telling them: "The Lord give you peace." He devoutly and always announced this peace to men and women, to those he met and to those who sought him. Because of this, many who rejected peace and salvation, with God's help embraced peace wholeheartedly and became children of peace and emulators of eternal salvation" (1 Cel 23).

The chronicles of the time tell us that Saint Francis brought harmony to the city of Arezzo, destroyed by internal strife; and it is known that, precisely in the last year of his life, he managed to make peace with Guido II and Opórtulus, bishop and podestà respectively of Assisi.

I have tried to refer to this extraordinary figure of Christian and saint, tireless operator of peace and good, when I invited the representatives of the various Christian confessions and other religions of the world to a "Day of Prayer for Peace", which will take place on October 27 in Assisi, "a place that the seraphic figure of Saint Francis has transformed into a center of universal brotherhood" (Homily of 1-25-86; cf. Sel Fran n. 43, 1986, p.

I entrust these my wishes to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin, of your saints and of Saint Francis of Assisi, to whose tomb you are carrying the oil of the olive trees of Calabria, a symbol of peace and your ardent Christian faith.

May my apostolic blessing accompany you on your pilgrimage to Assisi and throughout your life.