Pope Francis has reminded this first day of 2019, that what gives substance to all the New Year’s wishes we exchange is God’s blessing, during his Angelus address ushering in the New Year. January 1 also marks the World Day of Peace.
Today, eight days after Christmas, the Pope reminded, we celebrate the Holy Mother of God. “Like the shepherds of Bethlehem, we stand with our eyes fixed on her and on the Child she holds in her arms.”
“In this way, showing us Jesus, the Savior of the world, she, the mother, blesses us,” Francis said.
“She blesses the path of every man and every woman in this year that begins…” The Pope reminded: “It is God’s blessing that gives substance to all the good wishes that are exchanged these days!”
After the midday prayer, the Pope offered a wish for peace and prosperity this new year, and also thanked the President of the Italian Republic for the greetings he had sent him, and especially for “his precious service to the Italian people.”
Noticing an especially great number of pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square, he observed jokingly: “This seems like a canonization.”
“Through the intercession of the Virgin Mary,” he prayed, “May the Lord allow us to be artisans of peace every day of the new year.”
Pope Francis concluded, reminding those gathered to pray for him, and telling them to have a good lunch and day.
