At the end of the Angelus, Francis announced the initiative “Let’s learn from men and women” to be held in the Paul VI Hall, thanks to the sponsorship of the Dicastery for Culture and Education. A way, Francisco explained, to “regain the pure feelings of children.”
Benedetta Capelli and Eugenio Bonanata – Vatican City
Five children, representatives of five continents, appeared next to Pope Francis during the Angelus prayer. They were there, in front of many faithful who watched them, to present an initiative that, the Pope explained, will be celebrated in the afternoon of November 6, in the Paul VI Hall, on the theme: “Let us learn from those boys and girls.” , an event sponsored by the Dicastery for Culture and Education.
A meeting to show the dream of all of us: to feel pure like children again. For he who is pure as a child belongs to the Kingdom of God. Children teach us the clarity of relationships, the sudden welcome of strangers, and respect for all Creation. Dear children and all of you, I also hope to learn from you!
There is Pamela, 7 years old, who is from Syria; Grigoryi, also 7, who is from Ukraine, the war-torn country of the Pope’s heart. Then, Alessio, 10 years old, from Benin; Alejandro, 7 years old, from Guatemala and, finally, Tomás, 9 years old, from Australia. They represent over 6,000 men and women from many parts of the world. The five little ones were welcomed by the community of Sant’Egidio and the Auxilium Cooperative, together with Father Enzo Fortunato, of the Order of Conventual Franciscans.
The Pope watches from the papal balcony with five children.
Restore sight to the little ones
“Some of them come from the most difficult, poor and important places on the planet,” explained Father Enzo Fortunato, general coordinator of the initiative, to Telepace. On the Italian side, the organization has the participation of regional school institutions and the support of the Ferrovie dello Stato Group. While the list of countries of origin includes facts such as Morocco, Syria, Palestine and Ukraine. Therefore, it is a global event that shows the attention of the Bishop of Rome for childhood, the agreement on education and the need to recover the sight of the little ones.
“The Pope wants to bring us back to the heart of the Gospel,” emphasized Father Enzo, recalling what Jesus said to ‘let the children come to me’ or ‘if you are not like children you will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven’ . “This means we have to accept them, respect them and protect them more,” he explained. And, above all, that “we should spend more time with them.” Francisco, he added, wanted to strongly emphasize a specific aspect, the fact that it is through young children that the world’s trust can be regained in a historical period marked by the opposite. “In fact,” he pointed out, “in the Angelus the Pope spoke of the purity of children to approach the world and their ability to welcome without trust: in short, children can truly teach us again. ”
The children worked to prepare for the meeting
The thought returns to the habits of adults: “sometimes – Father Enzo showed – our lives are polluted by dirty air. And we must dirty our hearts and our eyes to recover the extraordinary beauty that exists in this world and live.” Kids are good at it. Now those interested will prepare drawings, songs and poems. Apparently, they are on the boil for the meeting with the Pope, who, for his part, is on the same wavelength. “He followed the different steps of the initiative, and I understood in him a sense of enthusiasm that reveals his ‘grandfather’ character: so it is a meeting between the grandfather of the world and the children.” Father Enzo emphasized that the initiative arose because of the publication of the upcoming book whose introduction was written by Pope Francis. Father Enzo emphasized that the initiative arose because of the publication of the upcoming book, “The encyclical of children. Reeducate the world of adults”, with a foreword by Pope Francis.
