Day 12. Audience with Pope Francis

Monday was a very memorable day for the capitulants. At dawn, everybody gathered to get on buses to the Vatican. Pope Francis received four religious congregations (who were holding their Chapter in Rome) at a private audience. After the necessary security checks and climbing hundreds of stairs, the sisters arrived in the Sala Clementina.

At nine o’clock, loud applause announced the Pope’s arrival. After greeting the audience, he began his speech: “During a Chapter, you have the grace and responsibility of experiencing a significant moment not only for the life of your Institutes, but also for the whole Church. So let us pause for a moment to reflect together on three essential and apostolic aspects that, despite your differences, you are all have in common: discernment, formation and charity”.

Concerning discernment, the Pope emphasised: “Discernment is certainly demanding. It calls for listening to the Lord, to ourselves and to others. It calls for prayer, reflection, patient expectation and ultimately courage and sacrifice”. A decision that is right brings goodness and is also a source of great happiness, which our world needs to re-discover.

Speaking about formation, the Pope reminded those present that “only those who are humble enough to realise that they are constantly in formation can hope to become good formators of others”.

Finally, the Pope came to his third point, charity, stressing that the intent of the founders of all four congregations present was to educate impoverished young people. Pope Francis urged them “…to keep the faces of the poor ever before you, and mindful of them, to seek to fan into flame the spirit of gratuitousness and selfless love that marked the beginnings of your presence in the Church”.

After the speech, the sisters and fathers had the opportunity to greet the Pope personally. The audience ended with a number of photos and short informal conversations, accompanied by the spontaneous singing of those present.

After the audience, the capitulants had a short time to visit Saint Peter’s Basilica. By the time they returned to Nemi the Vatican News already covered the event: