Pope’s General Audience of October 30

October 30, 2013: Pope Francis held his weekly general audience on Wednesday, speaking about the Creed, with a catechesis on “the communion of saints”. The public meeting is an occasion for the pilgrims and tourists visiting Rome to be able to see and hear the Pope, and also receive his blessing. The general audience of October 30 was held in the open, in Rome’s St. Peter’s square. It began with aides reading a passage from the letter of St. Paul to the Romans, in several languages.

Basing himself on the scripture passage, Pope Francis delivered his main discourse in Italian – summaries of which were read out by aides in various languages, including in English:

Dear Brothers and Sisters: In our catechesis on the Creed, we now reflect on “the communion of saints”. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church reminds us, this is a communion “in holy things” and “among holy persons” (No. 948). The communion of saints is the deepest reality of the Church, because in Christ, through Baptism, we are made sharers in the communion of life and love which is the Blessed Trinity. As such, we are united to one another in the Body of Christ. Through this fraternal communion we draw nearer to God and we are called to support one another spiritually. The communion of saints does not only embrace the Church on earth; it also embraces all who have died in Christ, the souls in purgatory and the saints in heaven. We experience this solidarity between heaven and earth in our intercessory prayer and in the feasts of All Saints and All Souls which we shall soon celebrate. As we rejoice in this great mystery, let us ask the Lord to draw us ever closer to him and to all our brothers and sisters in the Church.

Pope Francis then greeted the English-speaking pilgrims in Italian, whch the aide translated in English:

I greet all the English-speaking pilgrims present at today’s Audience, including those from England, Wales, Ireland, Denmark, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Vietnam and the United States. Upon all of you, and your families, I invoke God’s blessings of joy and peace!