(January 27, 2010) Every week on Wednesday, the Pope holds a public meeting, called
the general audience, during which pilgrims and tourists who come to Rome have a chance
of seeing and hearing him speak. The Holy Father delivers a spiritual reflection
and greets various groups in their languages, including in English. The General
Audience of January 27 was held in the Vatican’s Paul VI Audience Hall. It began
with aides taking turns reading a scripture passage in various languages. One of
the aides greeted the Pope on behalf of the English-speaking pilgrims, and presented
the various groups to him. Pope Benedict then delivered a reflection in English.
Listen:
Dear Brothers
and Sisters, Continuing our catechesis on the Christian culture of the Middle
Ages, we now turn to Saint Francis of Assisi, one of the greatest figures of the Church’s
history. The story of Saint Francis’ life and conversion, and his complete devotion
to Christ, poor and suffering, is well known. After gathering a small group of companions
and followers, including Saint Clare, Francis sought the approval of Pope Innocent
III for his movement which was completely committed to the renewal of the Church in
holiness and to the preaching of the Gospel. Near the end of his life, Francis’ configuration
to the Crucified Lord culminated in his reception of the stigmata at La Verna. His
deep piety found expression in a great devotion to the Eucharist, as the sacrament
of Christ’s real presence, and his love for creation as God’s handiwork. The life
and teaching of Saint Francis has inspired countless people to the imitation of Christ
through the embrace of inward and outward poverty. May his example teach us ever
greater love for the Lord and his Church, and help us to know the immense spiritual
joy born of the imitation of Christ and the pursuit of holiness. A warm
welcome to all of the English speaking pilgrims present at today’s audience! I particularly
greet high school students from Jordan and Israel, members of the initiative Aqabat
Eilat: “one more step towards peace”, students and faculty from the Bossey Graduate
School of Ecumenical Studies, as well as pilgrims from England, Gibraltar, Hong Kong
and the United States. God bless you all!
At the end of the audience,
Pope Benedict recalled the 65th anniversary of liberation of Nazi Germany’s
notorious death camp of Auschwitz in Poland on January 27, 1945, a day commemorated
around the world as Holocaust Remembrance Day. “Today, we celebrate "Remembrance
Day” in memory of all the victims of these crimes, especially the planned annihilation
of Jews, and in honour of those who, risking their lives, protected the persecuted
and opposed the murderous madness,” the Pope said in Italian. He denounced the “horror”
of the Shoah and the “unheard of brutality” of death camps created by Nazi Germany.
The German-born Pontiff recalled the countless victims of blind racial and religious
hatred, who suffered deportation, imprisonment and death in those abhorrent and inhuman
places. He wished that the memory of this event, particularly the tragedy of the Holocaust
that hit the Jews, will inspire a more convinced respect for the dignity of every
person so that all feel as belonging to one family. He prayed that God may enlighten
people’s hearts and minds so that such tragedies never repeat themselves. Shoah is
Hebrew for the Holocaust, in which six million Jews were killed by the Nazis and their
collaborators during World War II, including 1 million at the Auschwitz and Birkenau
camps. Pope Benedict concluded the General Audience with his blessing.