Pope Francis on the canonization of St. Pope John XXIII

MESSAGE OF THE HOLY FATHER FRANCIS

TO THE PEOPLE OF BERGAMO 
ON THE OCCASION OF THE

CANONIZATION OF BLESSED POPE JOHN XXIII

Dear friends from Bergamo , 

approaching the day of the canonization of Blessed John XXIII , I felt the desire to send a greeting to your Bishop Francis, priests, men and women religious, the lay faithful of the Diocese of Bergamo, but also to those who do not belong to the Church and the whole civil community of Bergamo.

I know well you want Pope John, and how much he wanted him to his homeland. From the day of his election to the pontificate, the name of Bergamo and Sotto il Monte became familiar all over the world and even today, more than fifty years later, they are associated with his smiling face and the tenderness of a father.

I invite you to thank God for the great gift that his holiness was for the universal Church, and I encourage you to cherish the memory of the land in which it was nourished, a land made of deep faith lived out in daily life, from poor families but united by the love of the Lord of communities capable of sharing in simplicity.

Of course, since then the world has changed, and there are new challenges for the mission of the Christian community. However, that legacy can still inspire today a Church called to live the sweet and comforting joy of evangelizing, to be the companion of the journey of every man, "the village fountain" to which everyone can tap into the fresh water of the Gospel. The renewal desired by the Second Vatican Council opened the way, and it is a special joy that the canonization of Pope Roncalli occurs together with that of Blessed John Paul II , that this renewal has  brought forward in his long pontificate.

I am sure that civil society can always find inspiration from the life of Bergamese Pope and the environment that created it, searching for new ways and adapted to the times in order to build a life based on eternal values ​​of fraternity and solidarity.

Dear brothers and sisters, I entrust my message to of which the young priest Fr Angelo Roncalli was valued collaborator. Then when the ministry took him away, he always received from the pages of '"Eco" the voice and the call of his homeland. Please pray for me, as I assure you of my remembrance and prayer for all of you, especially the suffering, the sick - recalling the City Hospital you have to dedicate to Pope John - and for the diocesan seminary, so dear to his heart. To all of you, on the eve of Easter, the Apostolic Blessing.

From the Vatican, April 25, 2014

FRANCISCUS