Pope Francis: May we never forget our roots

Budapest - photo by Keszthelyi Timi on Unsplash

Source: Vatican News

During his General Audience today with pilgrims in St Peter's Square Pope Francis recalled his recent trip to Hungary and focussed on two themes: roots and bridges.

During his visit to Hungary the Pope said he saw "so many humble and hard-working people proudly cherish the bond with their roots" adding that "among these roots are first and foremost the saints: saints who gave their lives for the people, saints who bore witness to the Gospel of love, saints who were lights in times of darkness; so many saints of the past who today exhort us to overcome the risk of defeatism and the fear of tomorrow, remembering that Christ is our future."

The Pope then noted that "Their faith, as we have heard from the Word of God, has been tested by fire", recalling the atheist persecution of the 20th century, in which "Christians were struck down violently, with bishops, priests, religious, and lay people killed or deprived of their freedom". Despite these attempts "to cut down the tree of faith, the roots remained intact" he said. A hidden Church remained steadfast, with many clergy ordained in secret, who bore witness to the Gospel by working in factories, while grandmothers evangelised in hiding.

Pope Francis then turned to his second theme of bridges. Budapest, the Pope noted, is famous for three bridges "that cross and unite its parts". He noted how he had stressed, in Hungary, "the vocation of Europe, which is called, a 'bridge of peace' - to include differences and to welcome those who knock on its doors. In this sense, the humanitarian bridge created for so many refugees from neighbouring Ukraine, whom I was able to meet while also admiring the great network of charity of the Hungarian Church, is beautiful".

Continuing with the image of the bridge, the Holy Father noted that the country is also very committed to building bridges "for tomorrow", with its concern for ecology. "There are also bridges that the Church is called upon to stretch towards the people of today, because the proclamation of Christ cannot consist only in repeating the past, but always needs to be updated, so as to help the women and men of our time to rediscover Jesus".

Finally, the Pope recalled with gratitude the beautiful liturgical moments, and reflected on the "beauty of building bridges between believers."

Let us ask ourselves, the Pope concluded, whether we too are building bridges in our daily lives, before entrusting Hungary to Mary, "the Queen of Hungary" and "Queen of Peace".

Watch the General Audience on Vatican Youtube channel here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bkZwjXes84

Read the official English translation of the Pope's address: https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/bollettino/pubblico/2023/05/03/230503a.html