Speaking to 300 members the Italian Youth Missionary Service (SERMIG) Pope Francis praises SERMIG’s tireless work with young people to build fraternity and peace inspired by the Gospel, reminding them that peace always comes from God.
By Lisa Zengarini
“War can be done without God, but peace can be done only with Him”. Pope Francis stressed this point as he addressed on Saturday members of the Italian Youth Missionary Service (“Servizio Missionario Giovani” – SERMIG), a Catholic organization that gathers young people, married couples, families, and religious men and women committed to spreading the Gospel of hope through volunteering in peace and in solidarity projects for the poor.
The SERMIG
It was founded in Turin, Northern Italy, in 1964 by an Italian Catholic couple, Ernesto Olivero and his wife Maria, and a group of young people who wanted to engage in concrete action for social justice and peace inspired by the Gospel.
In his address Pope Francis praised the work of SERMIG, which, he said, “is a kind of large tree grown from a small seed” sown in the Sixties , noting that this period marked by the Second Vatican Council, was a “fruitful time” for the Church, which saw the flourishing of many ecclesial lay movements.
“The fruits (of this seed) show that SERMIG did not do mere activism, but left space (to the Lord): prayed to Him, adored Him, recognized Him in the little ones and the poor, welcomed Him in the marginalized.”
The Arsenal of Peace
Among the many events and initiatives promoted over these nearly six decades, the Pope highlighted the transformation of the Military Arsenal of Turin into the “Arsenal of Peace” (“Arsenale della Pace”) in the early Eighties.
The 45.000-square-metre compound, where many of the weapons used during the Two World Wars were once forged, was converted into an urban monastery in 1983, which has offered [ The dream that animates the hearts of SERMIG’s friends is the hope of a fraternal world. ]a shelter to men and women seeking help and a meeting point for thousands of young people coming hailing from Italy and other countries to discuss about peace and justice, learn about peacebuilding and pray together.
A sign of the Gospel and the fruit of God’s dream
“The Arsenal of Peace like other SERMIG initiatives and in general all the works of the Christian communities “is a sign of the Gospel (…), the fruit of God’s dream, we could say of the power of the Word of God”, said the Pope.
“Here is God’s dream, which the Holy Spirit carries forward in history through his faithful people. So it was for you too: through the faith and good will of Ernesto, his wife and the first group of SERMIG t has become the dream of many young people.”
He noted that the Arsenal has become a place where the “weapons of peace”, that is “encounter, dialogue, acceptance” are now forged, by teaching young people “to meet, dialogue, and welcome”, in other words “fraternity”.
“The dream that animates the hearts of SERMIG’s friends is the hope of a fraternal world.”
Pope Francistherefore thanked SERMIG for giving life to this dream of fraternity, which he wanted to re-launch in the Church and in the world through his Encyclical Fratelli Tutti, remarking that peace can only be built with God’s help.
Never get tired of building the Arsenal of Peace
He encouraged SERMIG to “never get tired of building the Arsenal of Peace”, saying it is an ongoing construction site, as testified by other initiatives the Catholic organization has launched, including the “Arsenal of Hope” in Sao Paulo, Brazil, the “Arsenal of Encounter” in Madaba, Jordan, and the “Arsenal of Harmony” in Pecetto Torinese, Italy.
Concluding Pope Francis recognized that “every man and woman of good will can work in the Arsenals of peace, hope, encounter and harmony”, but insisted that these realities can only be built with the help the Holy Spirit of God, highlighting the distinctness of their mission and vocation rooted in the Gospel of Jesus.
