Today, dear Brothers and Sisters, I wish to welcome you because I have seen so many families among you. Good morning to all the families! We continue to reflect on the family. Today we pause to reflect on an essential characteristic of the family, namely, its natural vocation to educate the children so that they grow [...]
Dear Brothers and Sisters, Good morning! Today’s catechesis will serve as a doorway to a series of reflections on family life and what it’s really like to live in a family, day in and day out. Imagine three expressions written above the doorway; expressions I’ve already mentioned here in St Peter’s Square several times before. The [...]
Dear Brothers and Sisters, Good morning, In our journey of catecheses on the family, today we touch directly on the beauty of Christian marriage. It is not merely a ceremony in a church, with flowers, a dress, photographs... Christian marriage is a sacrament that takes place in the Church, and which also makes the Church, by [...]
Dear Brothers and Sisters, good morning! After having considered the two accounts of the book of Genesis, our reflection on God’s original design on the man-woman couple is now addressed directly to Jesus At the beginning of his Gospel, the Evangelist John recounts the episode of the Wedding at Cana, in which the Virgin Mary and [...]
Dear Brothers and Sisters, good morning! Today’s catechesis is dedicated to a central aspect of the subject of the family: that of the great gift that God made to humanity with the creation of man and woman and with the Sacrament of Marriage. This catechesis and the next are concerned with the difference and complementarity between [...]
Dear Brothers and Sisters, good morning! Today’s catechesis is dedicated to a central aspect of the subject of the family: that of the great gift that God made to humanity with the creation of man and woman and with the Sacrament of Marriage. This catechesis and the next are concerned with the difference and complementarity between [...]
Dear Brothers and Sisters, good morning! After having reviewed the different figures of family life – mother, father, children, siblings, and grandparents --, I would like to end this first group of catecheses on the family to speak about children. I will do so in two sessions: today I shall reflect on the great gift that [...]
Dear Brothers and Sisters, good morning. In today’s catechesis we continue the reflection on grandparents, considering the value and importance of their role in the family. I do so, identifying myself with these persons, because I also belong to this phase of age. When I was in the Philippines, the Filipino people greeted me, saying: “Lolo [...]
Dear Brothers and Sisters, Today’s catechesis and that of next Wednesday will be dedicated to the elderly who, in the realm of the family, are the grandparents. Today we will reflect on the present problematic condition of the elderly and, next time, more positively, on the vocation contained in this age of life. Thanks to the [...]
POPE FRANCIS GENERAL AUDIENCE Wednesday, 11 February 2015 Dear Brother and Sisters, Good morning, After reflecting on the figures of the mother and father, in this catechesis on the family I would like to talk about the child, or even better, about children. I shall use a beautiful image from Isaiah. The Prophet writes: “they all [...]