(22 Feb 08 - RV) Pope Benedict XVI met on Friday with the Circolo San Pietro,
a charitable organization dedicated to assisting the Holy Father in his work.
The
Circolo San Pietro was founded in Rome in 1869 by a group of young men from
the Roman nobility. It’s motto is “Prayer – Action – Sacrifice”, and for over 100
years it has dedicated itself to the service of the Pope, especially in serving the
poor of the city of Rome. The organization also help with liturgies at St. Peter’s,
and provides spiritual formation for its members.
Pope Benedict greeted its
members on Friday, the Feast of the Chair of Peter.
He thanked them for their
help, and reminding them of their ecclesial vocation, saying that when they help the
city’s poor, they are the arms of the Pope, the bishop of Rome.
He reminded
them to do their acts of charity in the spirit of the Gospel, doing them because of
the call of Christ, and recognizing the face of Christ in all those they serve. He
told them to remember those daily gestures of kindness which can show the face of
Christ to all those they meet, especially those going through the trials of life.
He
quoted his encyclical Spe Salvi, in which he wrote that one should take up the suffering
of one’s neighbours so that it becomes their own, because it has now become a shared
suffering, though, in which another person is present, this suffering is penetrated
by the light of love.
The Pope concluded his discourse by thanking the Circle
for their contributions to the See of Peter which help the Holy Father in his works
of charity around the world.