Regina Caeli : A gift and a treasure for the Church
(Vatican Radio) Ahead of reciting the Easter Marian hymn, Regina Caeli, for the last
time this year on Pentecost Sunday, Pope Francis had a special message for the estimated
200 thousand men, women and children gathered before for him in St. Peter’s Square
and stretching back right to the banks of the Tiber. He told them; “You are a gift
and a treasure for the Church”. Emer McCarthy reports:
The vast majority
gathered to the Vatican Sunday morning were members of the New Movements and Ecclesial
Communities – all formed by lay Catholics - that the Pope had convoked to celebrate
the Feast of Pentecost together with him, as part of the Year of Faith.
The
Feast which falls 50 days after Easter, marks the end of the Easter season. It commemorates
Christ’s sending the Holy Spirit down upon his Apostles in the Upper Room and the
birth of the Church.
Speaking from the raised altar in front of St Peter’s
basilica, where he had celebrated Mass for the Feast, before imparting his final blessing
Pope Francis said:
“Dear brothers and sisters,
this celebration of
faith, which began yesterday with the Vigil and culminated in the Eucharist this morning
is about to end. A new Pentecost has transformed St. Peter's Square into an open-air
Upper Room. We have relived the experience of the early Church, who gathered in prayer
with Mary, the Mother of Jesus (cf. Acts 1:14). We, too, in the variety of our charisms,
have experienced the beauty of the unity, of being One. And this is the work of the
Holy Spirit, who always creates unity anew in the Church.
I would like to thank
all the Movements, Associations, Communities and Ecclesial groups. You are a gift
and a treasure for the Church! This is what you are! I particularly thank all of you
who have come to Rome from many parts of the world. Always bring with you the power
of the Gospel! Do not be afraid! Always have joy and passion for communion in the
Church! May the Risen Lord be with you always and Our Lady protect you!
Let
us remember in prayer the people of Emilia Romagna, who on 20 May last year were affected
by an earthquake. I also pray for the Italian Federation of Voluntary Associations
in Oncology”.
Pope Francis then stepped away from the altar, moving to the
left of the basilica façade, where the icon of Our Lady, dearly beloved of the Roman
faithful Salus populi romani, was enthroned. There he reached out and placed
a hand upon the icon as the Regina Caeli rang out across the ocean of faithful marking
the end of Easter time. As of Monday the Church enters Ordinary Time.
But
not without one last word from Pope Francis. Before once again touring through the
throng in his open topped jeep, all the way down to Via della Conciliazione, the Pope
bid everyone goodbye in his own way: “Brothers and sisters, thank you so much for
your love for the Church! Have a good Sunday, a blessed feast day and a good lunch!