Pope Remembers Modern Day Martyrs

(08 Apr 08 - RV) Pope Benedict XVI yesterday commemorated the 40^th anniversary of the St Egidio Community, with a celebration of the liturgy of the word on Rome’s Tiber Island.

“The dawn of the 21^st century has been marked by martyrdom... may the work of the St Egidio Community be guided by the example of the modern day martyrs, in courageously reaching out to men and women throughout the world to spread the Gospel of peace”.

This was Pope Benedict’s message to the members of the Community, founded in the tumultuous aftermath of the 1968 social upheaval, by Andrea Riccardi.

The Holy Father’s words were delivered before six altars commemorating the Christian martyrs of the 19th and 20th century, custodied in St Bartholomew’s Basilica on the Tiber Island.

MARIO MARAZZITI, spokesman for the Community says the ecumenical dimension of the Basilica, which honours Christians of all denominations who have given their life for Christ is of particular resonance:

As he lit a candle before each of the six altars, Pope Benedict remembered “the Christians who have died under the totalitarian violence of communism, of Nazism, those who have fallen carrying out the Churches mission of evangelisation in America, in Asia and Oceania, in Spain and Mexico, in Africa ”.

In his Homily Monday Pope Benedict pointed out that still today: “When Christians really are the yeast, light and salt of the land, they become objects of persecution”. He added that the “love, faith, fraternal coexistence and dedication to the weak and poor which underscore Christian community’s way of life, often provoke violent aversion”.

Before leaving the tiny Island Pope Benedict uncovered a plaque commemorating his visit to the basilica to mark the 40^th anniversary of the St Egidio community. He thanked them for their “tireless witness of the Gospel", defining the hundreds of lay men and women who make up the Community as "true friends of God and authentic friends of humanity”.