2013-06-09 17:45:42

Pope Francis: messages of hope and perseverance to pilgrims


(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis spoke with tens of thousands of pilgrims who made a 28km, all-night pilgrimage on foot from Macerata to the Marian shrine at Loreto, in Italy. Noting that they pilgrims would be praying the Holy Rosary all along the way, and singing hymns under the guidance of their pastors, Pope Francis said, “This is beautiful, for it is a paradigm for our lives.” Listen: RealAudioMP3

The Holy Father also spoke of the great growth of the event, which began thirty-five years ago, in 1978, when 300 pilgrims first made the night-time trek. This year, as many as 90 thousand people took part. “It is the sign,” said Pope Francis, “that nothing is impossible for God.” The telephone link-up was one of two special events in which the Holy Father took part on Saturday evening. The other was a video message prepared for the participants in the “Ten Commandments in Ten Squares” initiative, which on Saturday evening took place in the Italian city of Milan, to mark the fortieth anniversary of the birth of the Renewal in the Holy Spirit movement in Italy. In his message to the participants, Pope Francis said, “Let us rediscover and let us live the Ten [Commandments] of God! Let us say, ‘yes’ to these ten ‘ways of love’, perfected by Christ, in order to defend man and lead him to true liberty.”








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