RIMINI (ITALPRESS) – Pope Leo XIV arrived at the Meeting in Rimini.
The people of the Meeting of Rimini welcomed Pope Leo XIV with applause and choirs from the stadium, a great enthusiasm for the first visit of a pontiff since 1982. The Holy Father arrived at the Fiera di Rimini by helicopter, and upon his arrival at the pavilions he was welcomed among others by the president of the Meeting Foundation for Friendship among the Peoples, Bernhard Scholz.
In thousands behind the transennials along the path crossed by Pope Leo XIV, who before his intervention at the Grand Auditorium planned for the 16 is visiting two exhibitions: the first is “Tardi I loved you, so old and so new beauty – Agostino di Ippona”, set up in Hall C2 and dedicated to the figure and the human and spiritual experience of Saint Augustine, the second is “Léon Harmel, the prophecy of an enterprise.
“You don’t know how nice it is to see all of you together, and you’re just a small part because on the other side there are more. Very good. The strongest applause must be for Jesus Christ, we are all disciples of Jesus.” Thus Pope Leo XIV greeting the present at the Meeting of Rimini.
“Here are so many opportunities to reflect on our lives, on society, on faith; ‘if we want to change the world we begin with ourselves’ said St Augustine. Our heart is so great and able to love that it must never be closed. We are looking for the way to walk together and to build a path of peace and love; continue this journey and you will see that we can build a world of peace and love”, he added.
“Dear brothers and sisters. I am happy to meet you in Rimini in the environments that are dear to you for the commitment, creativity and dialogue that your appointment at the end of August for years has been able to mobilize”, the Pontiff stressed.
“At this historical moment we understand more deeply the prophecy that almost half a century ago was entered in the name given to these days: ‘Meeting for friendship among peoples’. As St. John Paul II said to you, ‘just say these words rejoices in the heart: Meeting! Meeting of friendship! Friendship among peoples! Words that acquire a particular meaning in these hours, often dramatic, of the history of the world. Even today peace is guarded and diffused by people who love to meet and do not fear to confront each other”.
“Pope Francis with the Encyclical Brothers all taught us to cultivate the social friendship that represents the public, dynamic and concrete face of fraternity. Recognising us, in fact, in the dignity of children of God, we come in contact with what originally unites human beings, beyond all diversity, separation or conflict. We can identify each other, listen to us and become friends, among people and therefore also among peoples. Before boundaries, definitions and institutions there are always people. This awareness is at the heart of Christianity: you know it, because you have been educated to read the Gospel as a revelation of God that encounters, event, gaze, experience, awakening in each one the desire to be loved and to love”, adds the pontiff.
“You have not made the Meeting a sort of enclave: on the contrary, it has become a crossroads for the Church and for society, a meeting that multiplies meetings and inspires new paths. We thank the Lord for this living inheritance, which gives you a great historical responsibility, in the greatest communion of the Church, at the service of a humanity that hungers and thirsts for justice,” Pope Leo said.
“As the Second Vatican Council taught us, ‘the joys and hopes, the sadness and anguish of men of today, the poor above all and all those who suffer, are also the joys and hopes, the sadness and anguish of the disciples of Christ, and nothing is genuinely human that you do not find echo in their hearts.’ Yes, dear friends, it is the hour of responsibility, especially for those who have received much from a thousand years old tradition of faith that is made culture. The different editions of the Meeting have been able to draw on the great heritage of the past the reasons that today engage in the comparison with art, music, literature, science, economy and with every expression of the human soul. Also the title chosen for this edition, drawn from the last verse of the Divine Comedy – he observes – is inspired by the history of which God is Lord. ‘The love that moves the sun and the other stars’ has not disappeared, has not lost strength, nor intensity, although it is a love that remains willingly silent, unlike the noisy forces that upset the earth, the sky and all creatures.”.
IL VIDEO
“There are not only those who blow on the fire of fatigue and despair; there are also those who rekindle dreams and visions! The two roads are incompatible, because one exploits division, alienation and despair, the other serves the Kingdom of God and his justice”, he said.
“Dear young people, you are many here, many as volunteers. You are a sign that the future is a promise, not a threat! Many do not believe it any more, both among adults and among young people. Quietly, however, ‘the love that moves the sun and the other stars’ still propels hope. I have experienced this intensely among your peers in Lebanon, Africa and Spain. Love moves, urges, awakens from the numbness, provokes new vocations and calls to risk. Get in the game! Open yourselves to true catholicity, broadening your bonds beyond any membership too restricted – he continues. The Movement, groups, communities are a trampoline from which to plunge into the whole reality. Contrast what you would like to get away from brothers and sisters of different cultures, feelings and backgrounds, especially from the poorest. Come out, I’ll meet everyone! At every latitude, especially on the margins and among those who suffer, you will find who is already ready to build the civilization of love”.
“We release coexistence from suspicion, culture from bullying, education from ideology, work from the idolatry of profit, technology and finance from the business of death. From the organizations we have created and in which we operate, we expose the relationships of unjust power, the root of poverty and inequalities, war and environmental disasters. We disarm technological development when pervasive and destructive. They need courageous pioneers, starting from their own reversal of course to make convincing and credible the conversion required to all”, Pope Leo emphasized.
IL VIDEO
-Photo IPA Agency-
(ITALPRESS).
