Pope's general audience of March 2

(March 02, 2011) 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 in several languages. The general audience of March 3 was held in the Vatican’s Paul VI Audience Hall. An aide greeted the Pope on behalf of the English-speaking pilgrims, and presented the various groups to him. Pope Benedict then delivered a discourse in English.

Listen:
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Our catechesis today deals with Saint Francis de Sales, an outstanding Bishop and master of the spiritual life in the period following the Council of Trent. After a powerful experience of God’s liberating love in his youth, Saint Francis became a priest and then Bishop of Geneva, at that time a stronghold of Calvinism. His fine education, his personal gifts of charity, serenity and openness to dialogue, together with his brilliance as a spiritual guide, made Francis a leading figure of his age. His spiritual writings include the celebrated Introduction to the Devout Life, which insists that all Christians are called to perfection in their proper state of life, foreshadowing the insistence of the Second Vatican Council on the universal call to holiness. His Treatise on the Love of God develops this teaching, stressing that we find ourselves and our true freedom in the love of God. The Christian humanism of Saint Francis de Sales has lost none of its relevance today. May this great Saint and Doctor of the Church guide us in the pursuit of holiness and help us to find our fulfilment in the joy and freedom born of the love of God.
I am happy to greet the pilgrims from Saint Mary’s University College, Twickenham; I vividly recall their warm welcome during my recent Apostolic Visit to England. I also greet the group from Saint Norbert’s Catholic School in Denmark. To the choirs I express my gratitude for their praise of God in song. Upon all the English-speaking visitors present at today’s Audience, especially those from Ireland, Finland, Singapore and the United States, I cordially invoke God’s abundant blessings.