Italy's President Attends Mass in Assisi on Feast Day of St. Francis with Cardinal Zuppi, Head of Italy's Bishops, Presiding

Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, head of Italy's bishops, presided at the Mass for the Feast of St. Francis in Assisi, entrusting Italy to our Patron Saint and relaunching the Pope's appeal to "find the path of dialogue and the guarantees of a just peace" in Ukraine. The President of Italy Sergio Mattarella (pic), also attended and lit the votive lamp of the municipalities of Italy in front of the tomb of the saint.

"With St. Francis we believe that the terrible wolf of war is domesticated and we make our heartfelt appeal from Pope Francis addressed certainly to the two presidents directly involved - an aggressor and an attacked - but also to those who can help find the path of dialogue and the guarantees of a just peace ". With these words, referring to the dramatic current situation, card. Matteo Zuppi, archbishop of Bologna and president of the CEI, concluded the homily he gave in Assisi during the Mass for the Feast of St. Francis, which began with a "thank you" to President Mattarella, "because he represents us and encourages us to feel part of our beautiful Village". And the Head of State, this year, had the task of lighting the votive lamp of the Municipalities of Italy in front of the tomb of the Saint, as a sign of particular closeness to the Italian population hard hit in these two years by Covid.

"Brothers, everyone is the opposite of the pandemic",

Zuppi explained. St. Francis, "meek and humble of heart like his Jesus - in a world that was and is marked by wolves and violent or fearful citizens, by towers and swords, by knights and brigands, by wars and enmity, polluted by too much hatred so much so that it is impossible to talk about peace - he plans and begins to live a fraternal, disarmed world, where there is room for everyone, starting with the poorest and most fragile ", the president of the CEI updated:

“We need light, which means hope. And our Patron makes us feel at home - everyone feels at home in Assisi - and he helps us also to look at difficulties with the power of love ”.

“In the storm of the pandemic we experienced so much darkness, unexpected and prolonged” , the fresco by Zuppi, who quoted the “memorable prayer” of Pope Francis in St. Peter's Square: “We found ourselves frightened and lost”. “Let's not forget it”, the appeal: “We don't want to forget, like when we overcome pain by removing it or devouring it in the bulimia of emotions that never become feeling, awareness, choices, humanity:

everything is digital, and a digital heart is a little scary,

because it doesn't do what we have it for ”. "Today we collect the testament entrusted to us by those who are no longer there because of Covid", the invitation: "We will place some of their names next to this lamp".

"That it was not yet another serious historical event from which we were not able to learn",

the hope: “On that terrible night - said Zuppi recalling the lesson of Covid - we also saw many lights, all, consciously or not, a reflection of a greater love. We understood that no one can be left alone and also that darkness can be defeated, even with only a small lamp of humanity. They were the lights that the health personnel, the nurses, the volunteers, lit up with the great little gestures of humanity: consoling tears, shaking hands, giving security, even just a caress or a glance. I remember how many of them, like law enforcement, pharmacists, charity workers, lost their lives because of the service, continuing to help in the emergency. They are among the righteous who listen to those tender words of God's gratitude: I was sick and you came to visit me, take part in the joy that never ends ”. "Today we are in the house of San Francesco, patron saint of Italy, to remember, to thank but also to choose because we do not want to quickly forget the lessons of history", assured the president of the CEI: "Heaven grant us that in the end are more 'the others', but only an 'we' ". "Helping others makes us find ourselves!", The legacy of St. Francis: "this is the sweet and gentle yoke that unites us to those who were first linked to us, Jesus: a bond of love that frees us from the yoke , yes, that heavy and unbearable of individualism. It only comes out together! The difficulties are by no means over. We see it dramatically in the world and in our country ”. to thank but also to choose because we do not want to quickly forget the lessons of history ", assured the president of the CEI:" May Heaven in the end there are no longer 'the others', but only an 'us' ". "Helping others makes us find ourselves!", The legacy of St. Francis: "this is the sweet and gentle yoke that unites us to those who were first linked to us, Jesus: a bond of love that frees us from the yoke , yes, that heavy and unbearable of individualism. It only comes out together! The difficulties are by no means over. We see it dramatically in the world and in our country ”. to thank but also to choose because we do not want to quickly forget the lessons of history ", assured the president of the CEI:" May Heaven in the end there are no longer 'the others', but only an 'us' ". "Helping others makes us find ourselves!", The legacy of St. Francis: "this is the sweet and gentle yoke that unites us to those who were first linked to us, Jesus: a bond of love that frees us from the yoke , yes, that heavy and unbearable of individualism. It only comes out together! The difficulties are by no means over. We see it dramatically in the world and in our country ”. the legacy of St. Francis: “this is the sweet and gentle yoke that unites us to those who first bonded with us, Jesus: a bond of love that frees us from the yoke, yes, the heavy and unbearable one of individualism. It only comes out together! The difficulties are by no means over. We see it dramatically in the world and in our country ”. the legacy of St. Francis: “this is the sweet and gentle yoke that unites us to those who first bonded with us, Jesus: a bond of love that frees us from the yoke, yes, the heavy and unbearable one of individualism. It only comes out together! The difficulties are by no means over. We see it dramatically in the world and in our country ”.


"We entrust Italy to the intercession of our Patron",

the central part of the homily. "Support, in such a decisive moment, political love and service to the common home, so that in the necessary diversity all contribute to the national interest, which is indispensable for strengthening the institutions without which no plan can be achieved and for facing such challenges. large ", the first invocation:

“May our Patron, a universal man, help Europe to live up to the tradition that created it and the whole world not to resign itself in the face of war.

He, friend of all, will help us to defeat all speculative logic, small or large, anonymous and inhuman: speculation is always a form of looting that increases injustices and creates a lot of poverty, and it seems to me that there is no lack of it ". All brothers, "starting with the most fragile, such as the elderly, who are a resource and not a burden, who must be protected at home where they keep all their roots and where they help us to find them": "All brothers who look to the future, who want it for others, fighting against the precariousness of young people, giving them confidence and security so that they can demonstrate their abilities without unbearable paternalism. A future that calls for respect for the only home, for the environment, so that we can continue to sing about the beauty of creation.Let's heal the deep wounds hidden in the folds of the psyche - how many Covid has left! - or with professional competence but also by weaving communities and fraternities that give security and make you feel protected and loved. Our community is strong, has a lot of history and humanity, for it no one is a stranger and together we find the future that everyone wants. We live the blessing that is always life, its beauty so that it is also exciting to pass it on and give it, guaranteeing the greatness of motherhood ".

Source: SIR
Vatican News reported that, at the end of the Eucharistic celebration, President Mattarella lit the traditional votive lamp of the Municipalities of Italy offered to St. Francis. The Italian head of state then took the floor, after the greeting of the Minister General of the Order of Friars Minor Conventual, fra Carlos Alberto Trovarelli, to deliver his Message to Italy. The lesson of Covid and the war return to his words: "We do not surrender to the logic of war, which consumes people's reason and life and pushes intolerable growth in deaths and devastation, making the world poorer and threatening to lead it towards destruction, "he says. "Saint Francis is one of the ancient roots of our identity. The prophetic force of his life choices has exalted values that we feel alive for the future of Italy, Europe, the Mediterranean, the world. Peace, above all".

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