Eighty thousand this morning in St. Peter’s with the Pope
“With open arms”. Under this slogan, theItalian Catholic Action gathered this morning, in St. Peter’s Square, approximately eighty thousand members and supporters of all agesto meet Pope Francis, pray and celebrate.
There was also wide participation fromB.C of Pescara-Penne: «This event was experienced with great excitement and great anticipation in the diocese. – explained Roberto Padovano, diocesan president of the AC – Three hundred and thirty of us came and I saw from the parishes the desire to be there and feel part of Catholic Action.”
The day, opened by a moment of animation and prayer, came to life with the arrival of the Holy Father, welcomed by a sea of yellow and blue hats – the colors of the association – and hundreds of flags waving to the tune of the hymn composed for the occasion. Such great enthusiasm that it led the Pope to exclaim: «Passing among you, I met looks full of joy, full of hope. Thank you for this intense and beautiful hug.”
«The title you have chosen for your meeting is in fact “With open arms”. – observed the Pontiff – Therefore I would like to propose to you, as food for thought, three types of embrace: the missing hugL’hug that saves and thelife-changing hug». Unraveling his reflection on these three images, Pope Francis touched on the theme of closure and war, then focusing on the merciful embrace of God through which “we learn to embrace others” to finally arrive at those embraces that have “marked a decisive turning point, like Saint Francis, who left everything to follow the Lord after having held a leper close to him. And if this was valid for them, it is also valid for us. For example for your associative life, which is multifaceted and finds its common denominator precisely in the embrace of charity, the only essential mark of Christ’s disciples».
The words of the Holy Father greatly struck those present: «We have seen first-hand that there are gods hugs that save. — said Valeria Chiaretti (Vice President of the youth sector of Pescara-Penne) — There was a very touching moment when we took a minute of silence, looking into the eyes of our neighbor; then we had to end with a nice hug! A truly beautiful experience, to share with othersso that those who were unable to participate can enjoy it.”
The Pontiff then exhorted the people of AC: «Let it be [la carità] to shape your every effort and service, so that you can live faithful to your vocation and your history». A history 157 years long, which was the protagonist – given the coincidence with Liberation Day – in the memory of some exponents of the “White resistance”. The actor Neri Marcorè, in fact, after involving the square in singing “Piero’s war” by De André, recalled Tina Anselmi, a Catholic politician and partisan, who wrote: «I was in Catholic Action, or rather the push to join the Resistance, the last push, was given to me by the Catholic Action Assistant».
The national meeting – broadcast live on Rai 1 – continued with some testimonies from the countries at war, through the voices of young Ukrainians and the Patriarch of Jerusalem, and with the intervention of two young people from the territories affected by the floods, who recounted the AC’s concern in those difficult and painful moments. There were moments of celebration, with the singers Giovanni Caccamo, Stefano Picchi, the Orchestracoro dei Marsi and the Rulli Frulli band.
The great participation, also from the AC of Pescara-Penne, was underlined by Don Andrea Di Michele (United diocesan assistant): «There were so many of us! I know we shouldn’t count ourselves, but considering that since Covid we’ve done nothing but “lick our wounds” because we’ve diminished, today seeing eighty thousand people gathered around the Pope singing, praying and being happy was beautiful.” The priest then shifted attention to the speech of the singer Giovanni Caccamo who «underlined that it is young people who have done great things in life, starting with Michelangelo and Bach. Each of us is called to do something important, we just have to believe in it and trust in God!».
At the end of the meeting, over a thousand delegates, coming from all 219 Italian dioceses, remained in Rome for the National Assembly of Catholic Action. The works, which will continue until Sunday 28 April, will also lead to the renewal of the National Council for the three-year period 2024-27.
