(ZENIT News / Vatican City, 10.01.2023).- At the end of the Angelus prayer in St. Peter’s Square, Pope Francis made an important announcement.
Surrounded by some children, the Pope drew attention to their presence to the 20,000 pilgrims listening to him in the Square and said:
«Today, here by my side, as you can see, there are five children representing the five continents. Alongside them, I want to announce that on the evening of November 6th, in the Paul VI Audience Hall, I will have a meeting with children from all over the world. The event, sponsored by the Dicastery for Culture and Education, will have the theme ‘Let’s Learn from Boys and Girls.’ It is a gathering to express everyone’s dream: to have pure feelings like children because the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like children. Children teach us the clarity of relationships, the spontaneous acceptance of the stranger, and the respect for all creation. Dear children, I look forward to welcoming all of you to learn from you as well.»
In his remarks after the Angelus, the Pope also mentioned the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and renewed his «appeal for dialogue between Azerbaijan and Armenia, hoping that talks between the parties, with the support of the international community, will lead to a lasting agreement to end the humanitarian crisis.»
The Pontiff reminded that Sunday marked «the month of the Rosary and missions» and encouraged «everyone to experience the beauty of praying the Rosary, contemplating with Mary the mysteries of Christ, and invoking her intercession for the needs of the Church and the world. Let’s pray for peace in war-torn Ukraine and in all lands wounded by war. Let’s pray for the evangelization of peoples. And let’s also pray for the Synod of Bishops, which this month will hold its first Assembly on the theme of the synodality of the Church.»
In addition to some greetings, the Pope concluded by noting, «Today we celebrate St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus, St. Thérèse, the saint of trust. On October 15th, an Apostolic Exhortation on her message will be published. Let us pray to St. Thérèse and to the Virgin. May St. Thérèse help us to trust and work for the missions.»
