Pope urges aid for Indonesia, Benin during general audience of Oct. 27

(October 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 him and hearing him speak in several languages. The general audience of Oct. 27 was held in the open in St. Peter’s Square under a bright sky but windy conditions. The audience began with aides taking turns reading a scripture passage in various languages. An aide greeted the Pope on behalf of the English-speaking pilgrims, and presented the various groups to him, including an Indian group from the Parish of St. Joseph, Wynad, Kerala. Pope Benedict then delivered a discourse in English.

Listen:
Dear Brothers and Sisters, our catechesis today is on Saint Bridget of Sweden. Born in thirteen hundred and three, she grew up steeped in the faith. She and her husband had eight children, and dedicated themselves with great fervour to the spiritual life and their children’s Christian formation. Bridget was the driving force behind her and her husband’s “conjugal sanctity”, and became a model for many women through the ages of how to be the spiritual centre of the family. Following her husband’s death, Bridget renounced further marriage in order to deepen her union with the Lord, through prayer, penance and works of charity. She gave away her possessions and lived in a monastery. In her prayer, she experienced many intense mystical experiences. In thirteen forty-nine, she made a pilgrimage to Rome, to obtain Papal approval for a religious order of both men and women which she intended to found, and, while in Rome, she lived a life of intense apostolic prayer and activity. Bridget died in thirteen seventy-three, and was canonized eighteen years later. She is a significant reminder of a united Western Christendom, a powerful example of feminine sanctity, and was proclaimed co-Patroness of Europe by the Venerable John Paul the Second, during the Great Jubilee. May her intercession help unite all Christians, and draw the people of Europe to an ever greater appreciation of their unique and invaluable Christian heritage.
I am pleased to welcome all the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors present today. In particular, I extend greetings to the Bridgetine Sister here for their General Chapter. Upon all of you, I invoke God’s abundant blessings.

 
At the end of the audience Pope Benedict remembered people hit by natural disasters in Indonesia and Benin. Indonesia’s most powerful volcano, Mt. Merapi began erupting on Tuesday a day after a tsunami hit the remote islands of western Indonesia, killing many and leaving many mroe injured and homeless. Speaking in Italian, the Holy Father expressed his heartfelt condolences to the families of victims for the loss of their dear ones and assured the entire Indonesian people of his closeness and prayers. Likewise he also expressed his closeness with the people of Benin where floods that have made many homeless and triggered serious hygienic and health situations. The Pope invoked God’s blessing and comfort on the victims and the entire nation. The Holy Father urged the international community to provide Indonesia and Benin the necessary help and alleviate the sufferings of the victims of these disasters. Wednesday’s general audience concluded with the Pope's blessing.
Listen: