Pope prays for families who are suffering
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Saturday asked the faithful to join him in prayer for all families “who are feeling the effects of unemployment and for those who are persecuted because of their faith as well as for every family that is suffering”.
The Pope’s words came in a message signed by Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, on his behalf. It was addressed to participants in the X National Pilgrimage of Families for the Family organized by the “Renewal in the Spirit” movement.
Hosted, this year by the town of Scafati and Pompei in Italy’s southern Campania region, there are over 10,000 participants from all over Italy.
In his message the Pope sends greetings to all participants assuring them of his spiritual closeness. He also expressed his pleasure that organizers have placed the event within a programme of preparations for the 2018 World Meeting of Families in Dublin.
The General Secretary of the Italian Episcopal Conference, Archbishop Nunzio Galantino, joined the Pope’s greetings with a message of his own in which he highlighted the valuable witness of the “Renewal in the Spirit” movement, and recalled the fundamental role of the family in the current social, anthropological and institutional context.