Pope meets Circus performers

December 01, 2012: On the occasion of the Year of Faith, a Pilgrimage to Rome for the traveling performers were organized in Rome for Friday and Saturday. Over 7000 Circus professionals, operators of amusement parks and fairs, street performers, artists, and puppeteers, and folk groups meet in Rome for a two-day pilgrimage, which ended on Saturday. It was part of an initiative organised by the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People. The performers attended the Holy Mass in St. Peter's Basilica on Friday, presided by Cardinal Antonio Maria Veglio, President of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People. The festivities got off to a flying start on Saturday morning with a parade featuring familiar tunes played by brass bands along the via Della Conciliazione which led up towards St Peter Basilica.

The highlight of the day for all the participants, however, was a greeting from Pope Benedict XVI in the Paul the VI Hall. After hearing testimonies from a number of circus performers and a mini show the Pope addressed them:

“What primarily distinguishes your big family is the ability to use the language of the particular and specific your art. The joy of the shows, the joy of recreational play, the grace of the choreography, the music are just a way for immediate communication to dialogue with small and large, arousing feelings of serenity, joy and harmony.

With the variety of your professions and original performances, you amaze and inspire wonder, offer opportunities for celebration and fun, the Pope said.

Starting from these features and your style, the Pontiff told them, you are called to bear witness to those values ​​that are part of your tradition: the love of family, care for children, care for disabled people, care the sick, the elderly and the enhancement of their wealth of experience.
The Pope exhorted them to keep alive in their environment the dialogue between the generations, the meaning of friendship and the taste of teamwork. Your trades require renunciation and sacrifice, responsibility and perseverance, courage and generosity - virtues that today's society is not always appreciated, but that helped form in your great family generations.
Pope Benedict also acknowledged their problems related to conditions of traveling, such as children's education, suitable locations for the shows, the permissions on the representations and residence permits for foreigners. He hoped these would be overcomed.
The Church welcomes and appreciates the commitment and loyalty you show to the traditions. The church is a pilgrim who, like you, in this world, invites you to participate in his divine mission through your daily work, the Pope added.

Dear friends, you spread around you a joyful atmosphere and you ease the burden of daily work. You also may be men and women with a strong inner self, open to contemplation and dialogue with God, the Pontiff wished them and imparted his Apostolic Blessing.