Pope Francis signed his new
encyclical, Fratelli tutti, Saturday during a visit to Assisi.
In his first official trip
outside Rome since the pandemic struck Italy, the pope celebrated Mass at
the tomb of his namesake, St. Francis of Assisi.
“Fratelli tutti,” the
encyclical’s opening words, means “All brothers” in Italian. The phrase is
taken from the writings of St. Francis, one of the major inspirations for Pope
Francis’ third encyclical, on fraternity and social friendship. The text was
released Sunday, Oct. 4, St. Francis’ feast day.
The pope stopped off en route to
Assisi to visit a
community of cloistered Poor Clares in the Umbrian town of Spello. It was his
second private visit to the community, following a surprise trip in January
2019.
Members of the Poor Clares of
Santa Maria di Vallegloria visited Francis at the Vatican in August 2016, when
he presented them
with the apostolic constitution Vultum Dei quaerere, outlining new
norms for women’s cloistered communities.
The pope arrived in a rainswept
Assisi on Saturday afternoon, making a brief stop to greet another community
of Poor Clares in the town, according to ACI Stampa, CNA’s
Italian-language news partner.
He then celebrated Mass at the
tomb of St. Francis in Assisi in the Basilica of St. Francis. ACI Stampa
reported that those present included religious representing various branches of
the Franciscans, Cardinal Agostino Vallini, pontifical legate for the Basilicas
of St. Francis and St. Mary of the Angels in Assisi, local Bishop Domenico
Sorrentino, and Stefania Proietti, Assisi’s mayor.
The Mass, which was private
but livestreamed,
followed the readings for the feast of St. Francis.
The Gospel reading
was Matthew 11:25-30, in which Jesus praises God the Father, “for
although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have
revealed them to the childlike.”
Jesus then says: “Come to me, all
you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you
and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest
for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.”
The pope did not preach after the
Gospel, but instead observed a moment of silence.
Before signing the encyclical on
the tomb of St. Francis, he thanked officials from the Vatican Secretariat of
State, present at the Mass, who oversaw the text’s translation from Spanish
into different languages.
Pope Francis’ 2015
encyclical, Laudato si’, had a title taken from St.
Francis of Assisi’s “Canticle of the Sun.” Prior to that, he
published Lumen fidei, an encyclical begun by his predecessor,
Benedict XVI.
Assisi is the focal point of
several major Church events this fall, including the Oct. 10 beatification of
Carlo Acutis, and the “Economy of Francis” summit, scheduled to take place in
November.
Culled from CNA
Download the encyclical from: http://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/encyclicals/documents/papa-francesco_20201003_enciclica-fratelli-tutti.html
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