Pope urges priests, religious to open doors to God’s mercy
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Saturday visited the Shrine of Divine Mercy in Krakow and heard confession for several young World Youth Day pilgrims, before celebrating Mass for priests, religious and seminarians in the nearby sanctuary dedicated to his predecessor, Pope John Paul II.
Our special correspondent in Krakow, Lydia O’Kane reports on the morning activities of the Pope’s penultimate day in Poland…..
Listen:
The Sanctuary of Divine Mercy is one of the most important shrines in Poland and welcomes millions of people every year.
They come to venerate the image of Jesus, I trust in You, painted with blue and red rays emanating from his heart.
It is housed in the chapel of the convent of the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy and it was here on Friday that Pope Francis came to pray.
Outside in the grounds, meanwhile, and under the heat of the sun pilgrims, young and old, sat on the grass, some with babies on their laps others with children on their shoulders, soaking up the atmosphere of this Papal visit
“Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy”, is the theme of this World Youth Day, so it was entirely fitting that the Holy Father should be here to visit this place of pilgrimage , so synonymous with the promoters of Divine Mercy, Sr Faustina Kowalska and St John Paul II.
After hearing the confessions of a number of young people, and passing through the Holy Door of this purpose built shrine devoted to the Merciful Jesus, the Pope travelled the short distance to the Sanctuary of St John Paul II to celebrate Mass for Priests, Religious, Consecrated Persons and Seminarians.
As the Pope entered this sanctuary dedicated to his illustrious predecessor, the golden mosaics created by Fr Marko Ivan Rupnik glistened and the faces of the nuns in their distinctive habits beamed.
One of the key messages of Pope Francis’ pontificate has been the Mercy of God and in his homily he told those present that each of them held in his or her heart “a very personal page of the book of God’s mercy. It is the story of our own calling, he said, “the voice of the love that attracted us and transformed our life, leading us to leave everything at his word and to follow him.”
The Pope stressed that the Gospel of God’s Mercy remained “an open book that we are called to write in the same style, by the works of mercy we practice.” Jesus, he added, “wants hearts that are open and tender towards the weak, never hearts that are hardened.”
Recalling the words of Saint John Paul II, Pope Francis urged those called to the religious life not to remain closed in, but to “open the doors” and live out the Mercy of God. And in a final gesture at the end of this celebration, Pope Francis bowed his head at the relic of this other messenger of Mercy, Saint John Paul II.