(ZENIT News / Vatican City, 24.02.2023).- On Friday, February 24, the Pontiff received in audience the members of the Pro Petri Association. The Pope began by thanking them for their biennial pilgrimage to Rome: “You have come to be spiritually refreshed at the tomb of Saint Peter and to draw from the living wellsprings of the Church the love of Christ who gives Himself unceasingly for us. May the witness of the Apostle, so human and so full of God’s grace, awaken in you the generous and missionary zeal of the early Church,” he said to the participants.
The Holy Father continued: “The pilgrimage is also a time for you to bring your generous offerings to support the pastoral solicitude of the Pope and the charitable works of the Holy See throughout the world. You still bear witness today to the generosity and charity that stirred the hearts of your predecessors, who were not afraid to spend their lives for love of the Church. Today, the call to give yourselves for love of our brothers and sisters is no less urgent: so many of them suffer from war, violence, exclusion, material and spiritual poverty. And it is significant that your pilgrimage coincides with the beginning of Lent, a propitious time that calls us to convert from the slavery of selfishness to the freedom to love and serve God and our brothers and sisters.”
The Pope also said that “The pilgrimage is also a time for you to bring your generous offerings to support the pastoral solicitude of the Pope and the charitable works of the Holy See throughout the world. You still bear witness today to the generosity and charity that stirred the hearts of your predecessors, who were not afraid to spend their lives for love of the Church. Today, the call to give yourselves for love of our brothers and sisters is no less urgent: so many of them suffer from war, violence, exclusion, material and spiritual poverty. And it is significant that your pilgrimage coincides with the beginning of Lent, a propitious time that calls us to convert from the slavery of selfishness to the freedom to love and serve God and our brothers and sisters.”
And he continued: “Reading the Acts of the Apostles, we see how in the nascent Church the generosity of Christians manifested itself among themselves and towards the community with great solidarity. They were able to pool everything to support their more fragile brothers and sisters. They understood that they were the temporary stewards of their goods: indeed, everything we possess is a gift from God and we must allow ourselves to be enlightened by Him in the management of the goods we receive. His spirit, the source of generosity, will always urge us to give to those in need, to fight poverty with what He gives us. For the Lord gives us in abundance so that we in turn can give ourselves.”
Finally, the Holy Father exhorted to “put into practice the call to do good to all, taking the time to love the smallest and most defenceless, the abandoned and despised, those who are discriminated against and marginalized.” And he added: “I wish to express my gratitude for your faithful support of my ministry as Successor of Peter, and I thank you in particular for the gift of the portrait that one of your members was kind enough to make and offer me. I commend each one of you and your families, as well as all the members of your Association, to the intercession of the Virgin Mary and St Peter, and I bless you from my heart. And please do not forget to pray for me. Thank you.”
The Pro Petri Association
“Pro Petri Sede” is an Association that supports the action of the Successor of the Apostle Peter. This support is twofold: on one hand, financial support for the Pope’s social works and, on the other, explaining and praying for the activities of the Pope and of the Holy See. Linked to the local Church, Pro Petri Sede works together with the Bishops
“Pro Petri Sede” has branches in Belgium, the Low Countries and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. The organization has its origins in the 19th century. Between 1860 and 1870, many young people of those three countries went to Rome and, at the request of Pope Pius IX (1846-1878), made themselves useful in the (unfruitful) defense of the Papal States. Given that they wore a uniform that looked like the uniform of a unit of the French Army of Algeria, they were called “Papal Zouaves.” Returning to their countries of origin after the “Fall of Rome” in 1870, they decided to continue supporting the Holy Father in a different way, and so they founded the “Pro Petri Sede” alliance on November 6, 1870.
In keeping with a venerable tradition, the Pro Petri Sede members are received by the Pope every two years in private audience. On that occasion, they give the Holy Father the gifts collected and express their support to him. The financial aid offered is then used by the Pontiff to co-finance aid to development and humanitarian activities of the Holy See.
The members, donors and sympathizers are women and men that live their faith conscientiously. Convinced of the usefulness to explain better the Pope’s action, they publish a review “At the Service of the Pope,” a Website, conferences and other activities, and try to promote the role of the Successor of Peter as guarantor of the unity of illuminating the Church. Prayer for the person of the Pope – “Pray for me,” says Pope Francis at the end of all his meetings, — has a special place in this.
Anyone who supports the Association’s objectives can become a member. It’s also possible to subscribe to the review “At the Service of the Pope” and/or make a donation in favour of the Pope’s activity.
