#PopeFrancis "We entrust our lives and the fate of the Church and of the world to Mary..." at #Angelus - FULL TEXT

Words of the Holy Father Before the Angelus

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

I want to thank you for being here at this Mass. I want to thank all those who worked for this double “marathon”: last Sunday [for the inauguration of the restored Cathedral] and this. Thank you very much! And I want to thank you, the sick. There are 4,500 sick here! Thank you, that with your help the suffering Church, helped to carry the cross of Christ. Thank you! Many thanks to you!

And at the end of this celebration, our thoughts turn to the Blessed Virgin, whom you venerate in your cathedral dedicated to her. To Mary, we offer our joys, our sorrows and our hopes. We ask for her mercy for those of us who are suffering, especially the sick, the poor and those without decent work.

Recalling the apostolic zeal of two lay figures of your land, Blessed Odoardo Focherini and Venerable Marianna Saltini, charity witnesses of Christ, I greet with gratitude to you, the lay faithful. I encourage you to be protagonists in the life of your community, in communion with your priests: always bet on what is essential in proclaiming and witnessing the Gospel.

I thank you, dear Bishop Francesco, and all of you, the Bishops of the Emilia Romagna Region, for your presence, and above all the shepherd of this diocese, Msgr. Francesco Cavina: I urge you to be close to your priests with listening, tenderness and caring closeness.

I would finally like to thank each and every one of you, dear faithful, priests, men and women religious, the Authorities and especially those who helped to organize this visit, with a special thought for the AGESCI and the choir, made up by all the choirs of the diocese, which has animated this liturgy.

We entrust our lives and the fate of the Church and of the world to Mary, reciting the Angelus prayer together.

Angelus …

Appeals of the Holy Father:

I am deeply saddened by the tragedy that struck Colombia, where a giant mudslide caused by torrential rains, hit the city of Mocoa, causing numerous deaths and injuries. I pray for the victims and assure you of my and your closeness to those who are mourning the death of loved ones, and I thank all those who are working to bring relief.

There continue to be reports of bloody armed clashes in the region of Kasai in the Democratic Republic of Congo, clashes are causing deaths and displacement and which also affect people and property of the Church: churches, hospitals, schools. I assure you of my closeness to this nation, and I invite all to pray for peace so that the hearts of the architects of such crimes do not remain slaves of hatred and violence, why more hatred and violence destroy.

In addition, I follow with great attention to what is happening in Venezuela and Paraguay. I pray for those people, very dear to me, and I urge everyone to persevere tirelessly, avoiding any violence and in the search for political solutions

[Original Text: Italian] [ZENIT: Working translation by Deborah Castellano Lubov]

***At the end, the Holy Father went to the Seminary of Carpi, where, at 1 p.m., he had lunch with the bishops of the region and the elderly priests who also live in the House of Clergy and Seminarians.c