DownloadHOLY SEE
Condolences of Pope Francis at the death of Cardinal GeorgeTo the Most Reverend Blase Cupich
Archbishop of Chicago
Saddened to learn of the death of Cardinal Francis E. George, Archbishop Emeritus of Chicago, I offer heartfelt condolences to you and to the clergy, religious and lay faithful of the Archdiocese. With gratitude for Cardinal George’s witness of consecrated life as an Oblate of Mary Immaculate, his service to the Church’s educational apostolate and his years of episcopal ministry in the Churches of Yakima, Portland and Chicago, he joins you in commending the soul of this wise and gentle pastor to the merciful love of God our heavenly Father. To all who mourn the late Cardinal in the sure hope of the Resurrection, I cordially impart my Apostolic Blessing as a pledge of consolation and peace in the Lord.
FRANCIS PP.
(18 April 2015: http://www.news.va/)
Pope Francis concluded his talk to the bishops: “I urge you, finally, to persevere as men of deep and constant prayer, in the way of Blessed Joseph Gerard, who listened to the promptings of the Holy Spirit in all matters. Prayer precedes and leads to authentic evangelization… When the Church summons all Christians to constantly take up anew the task of evangelizing the world... she is showing us the path to our deepest happiness.”
“To live in Christ according to the form of life of the gospel” was the theme of the International Congress of Formators for Consecrated Life, organized by the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life (formerly the Vatican office for Religious Life), held in Rome as an activity of the Year of Consecrated Life, on 7-11 April 2015.
The numbers give us a hint at the size and importance of the event: 1,300 formators participated, from 108 different countries, representing some 450 charisms or religious families.
The demand was so overwhelming
that the organizers were forced to limit the number of participants, using as
criteria the number of members of each institute. We Oblates were given 11
places, allotted to the following formators: Mario BRANDI, Joaquín MARTÍNEZ and
Jude SAPARAMADU from the International Roman Scholasticate; Giuseppe RUBINO and
André M. NDÉNÉ (Mediterranean Province); Jószef WCISLO and Wojciech POPIELEWSKI
(Poland); Ronald LAFAMBROISE (United States); Gaby KINZE (Congo); Norbert
WILCZEK (Province of Central Europe); and Joseph PHIRI (Zambia) scholasticate
in Cedara, SA.
During his audience with the participants on 11 April, Pope Francis told them: “Consecrated life is beautiful; it is one of the most precious treasures of the Church, rooted in the baptismal vocation. So it’s good to be formators, because it is a privilege to participate in the work of the Father, which is to form the heart of the Son in those whom the Spirit calls. Sometimes one can feel that this service is a burden, as if it were taking us away from something more important. But that’s a deception, it’s a temptation. The mission is important, but it is equally important to form for the mission, to form for the passion of the proclamation, to form for the passion of going everywhere, into every corner, to proclaim to everyone the love of Jesus Christ, especially to those who are alienated, to proclaim it to the little ones and to the poor, and also to let oneself be evangelized by them. All of this requires a solid base, a Christian structure of the personality which families themselves rarely can give these days. And that increases your responsibility.”
