Meeting with the Executive Committee of the II International Congress of Confraternities and Popular Piety that took place in Seville, Spain, in December, Pope Francis emphasizes the importance of prayer, especially within families, and of showing abounding love and respect for one another.
By Deborah Castellano Lubov
May the heartbeat of love always be felt in your work, Pope Francis said to the Executive Committee of the II International Congress of Confraternities and Popular Piety, in Casa Santa Marta on Saturday.
The Holy Father began his remarks by expressing his delight in welcoming the Committee of the Congress—which took place, 4-8 Dec. 2024, in Seville, Spain—as pilgrims this Jubilee Year, acknowledging they have come to give thanks to God for their Congress.
“When I was told that you would be coming, I was a little worried,” the Pope joked, recalling that in the message he had sent them for that occasion, he called them “crazy,” “and I wondered if that was why you were so eager to meet me.”
“But Monsignor Saiz Meneses tells me that this initiative has been a grace whose echoes are still being heard,” he added, quipping, “and so I feel more at ease.”
Pope meeting with the Executive Committee of the II International Congress of Confraternities and Popular Piety
In his remarks, the Holy Father recalled the invitation he gave them to live their event as a prayer of praise “that accompanies our earthly journey like a pilgrimage toward God and toward our brothers and sisters” and asking them “to be witnesses of a love so overflowing that it might seem ‘crazy,’ crazy with love.”
“How good it would be, at the conclusion of this event,” the Pope noted, “if the first of these echoes could be heard especially within families.”
Heartfelt prayer
“May it be heard,” he explained, “as the resounding silence of a prayer that moves one to tears because it comes from the heart—whether before the image of the patron of your confraternity, who presides over your homes, before the Tabernacle of your parish or temple, at the bedside of the sick, or in the company of the elderly.”
The Pope acknowledged and expressed his gratitude for a charitable work of theirs providing a shelter for the homeless.
“May the heartbeat of a loving heart,” the Holy Father noted, “always be heard in this work.”
In this sense, the Pope encouraged them in their efforts to promote human dignity and to care for others.
Finally, Pope Francis concluded praying that Jesus bless them, Mary watch over them, and asking for their prayers.
Pope meeting with the Executive Committee of the II International Congress of Confraternities and Popular Piety
