In the hall of the Constoror of the Apostolic Palace, Leone XIV received the participants in the general chapters of four religious institutes in the hearing: the missionary daughters of the Holy Family, the apostle of the Holy Family, the Daughters of Nazareth and the Sisters of Charity of Santa Maria.
By welcoming them, the Pope defined the general chapters “moments of grace, a gift for the Church”, remembering that they take place in the year of the Jubilee of hope. “Bring the charismatic gift that the Holy Spirit has delivered to your founders – he said – and that continues to renew itself. You are witnesses of hope, called to be a sign and prophecy ».
The pontiff stressed that the different religious foundations were born thanks to the courage of men and women who have been able to say their “yes” to the call of God, and how many of them share the desire to transmit the values of the Holy Family of Nazareth, “hearth of prayer, forge of love and model of holiness”.
At the time of his historic trip to the Holy Land, Leone XIV reiterated the topicality of the message of the Nazareth family: “Today more than ever the family needs to be supported, promoted, encouraged: with prayer, with example and with a social action ready to help her in her needs”.
Finally, the Pope addressed a concrete invitation to the consecrated: «Renew your commitment in favor of families, children, young people, the elderly. Continue the works that have been entrusted to you by making family and being close to the people you witness, with prayer, listening, advice and help, to spread in the realities in which you operate the spirit of the house of Nazareth “.
