Pope Benedict XVI in San Giovanni Rotondo Wrap-up of his Visit!

Here is a wrap-up of the Holy Father's words on his pastoral visit to  St. Pio of Pietrelcina's Tomb.

Deacon John 

VATICAN - Benedict XVI in San Giovanni Rotondo recalls “Padre Pio offered everything to God, who used it freely to prolong the work of Christ” and warns of the “risk of activism and secularisation” which can lead to neglect “the truly necessary thing: listening

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to Christ in order to do the will of God ”

San Giovanni Rotondo (Agenzia Fides) – Sunday 21 June the Holy Father Benedict XVI made a pastoral visit to San Giovanni Rotondo. At 10am he arrived at the shrine of Santa Maria delle Grazie and, after being welcomed by the civil and religious authorities, he stopped for a moment of adoration in front of the Blessed Sacrament, paid a brief visit to the cell where Padre Pio da Pietrelcina died, and to crypt of the Shrine to venerate the earthly remains of the holy Friar. At 10.45am in front of the church of San Pio da Pietrelcina, the Holy Father presided a Eucharistic Concelebration. At the beginning of his homily, speaking of the life and the holiness of Padre Pio da Pietrelcina, Benedict XVI recalled that the Eucharist, “was the mystery which constituted the centre of his entire existence: the origin of his vocation, the power of his witness, the consecration of his sacrifice ”. 
Commenting the Mass readings, the Gospel of the calmed tempest, a short passage of the Book of Job, and Psalm 106/107, the Holy Father said “in the Bible the sea is considered as a threatening element, chaotic, potentially destructive, which only God, the Creator, can command, govern and silence. There is however another force - a positive force - which moves the world and can transform and renew created beings: the force of the ‘love of Christ, - as St Paul calls it in the Second Letter to the Corinthians - : therefore not an essentially cosmic force, but instead divine, transcendent force…the solemn act of calming the stormy sea is clearly a sign of Christ's Lordship over negative powers and leads us to think of his divinity ”. The faith of the disciples is still weak, “it is still growing; it is a mixture of fear and confidence; whereas Jesus' trusting abandonment to the Father is total and pure. This explains why he sleeps during the storm, completely safe in the arms of God” the Pope explained, but he also underlined “there will come a time when Jesus will experience fear and anguish: when his hour arrives, he will feel upon himself the weight of the sins of humanity, like a great wave about to overwhelm, him… But even then Jesus does not doubt the power of God the Father or his closeness, even though he experiences to the full the abyss between hatred and love, between mistruth and truth, between sin and grace ”.
Benedict XVI went on to recall that one of the Saints “who lived this experience of Jesus intensely and personally” was Padre Pio da Pietrelcina. “The stigmata, which marked him in the body, united him intimately with the Crucified and Risen Lord. A true follower of Saint Francis of Assisi, like the Poverello, he made his own the experience of St Paul, as he describes it in his Letters: ‘I have been crucified with Christ, yet I live, no longer I, but Christ who lives in me’ (Gal 2,20); or: ‘so death is at work in us, l

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ife in you (2 Cor 4,12). This does not mean alienation, loss of personality: God never destroys what is human, instead he transform it with his Spirit and turns it to serve his plan for salvation. Padre Pio keeps his natural gifts, and even his temperament, but he offers everything to God who uses it freely to prolong the work of Christ: announcing the Gospel forgiving sins and healing the sick in body and spirit ”. The Pontiff went on to recall that Padre Pio, like Jesus, fought a radical battle “not against earthly enemies but against the spirit of evil”, using as protection "God's armour", "the shield of the faith" and "the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God " (Eph 6,11.16.17). 
Addressing the Capuchin Friars Minor, members of Padre Pio prayer groups and the faithful of San Giovanni Rotondo, Benedict XVI said: “you are heirs of Padre Pio and the legacy he left you is holiness … Padre Pio drew people to the path of holiness with his own testimony, indicating as an example the ‘track’ which leads to holiness: prayer and charity. Prayer first of all. Like all great men of God, Padre Pio had become himself a prayer, in soul and body. His days were a lived Rosary, a continual meditation and assimilation of the mysteries of Christ in spiritual union with the Blessed Virgin Mary … From prayer, as from a living source, there flowed charity. The love he carried in his heart and transmitted to others was filled with tenderness, always attentive to the real situations of individual persons and of families”. His special concern for the sick and the suffering inspire his project for a great work to "alleviate suffering", and the Pope underlined that the Institute cannot be understood if it is separated from its inspiring force, evangelical charity animated with prayer.
“ My dear friends, today Padre Pio calls our attention to all this, –Benedict XVI concluded -. The danger of activism and secularisation is ever present; therefore my visit also intends to confirm your fidelity to the mission inherited from your beloved Padre. Many of you, men and women religious, lay men and women, are so occupied with thousands requests for service to pilgrims, or the sick at the hospital, as to risk neglecting the most necessary thing: to listen to Christ in order to do the will of God. When you feel this danger near, look to Padre Pio: look at his example, his suffering; invoke his intercession, that he may obtain from the Lord for you the light and the strength you need to carry on his mission imbued with love for God and fraternal charity ”. 

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At the end of the Holy Mass celebrated in front of the church of San Pio da Pietrelcina at San Giovanni Rotondo, Sunday 21 June, the Holy Father Benedict XVI, led the recitation of the Angelus. “Here at the shrine of san Pio da Pietrelcina, we seem to hear his voice urging us to turn with the hearts of children to the Blessed Virgin Mary: ‘Love Our Lady and lead others to love her'. He said this to everyone and even more powerful than his words, was his exemplary testimony of profound devotion to the heavenly Mother” said Benedict XVI before the Marian Prayer. The Pontiff then recalled that Saint Pio “always nourished a tender love for the Blessed Virgin Mary” and lived “his life and his apostolate under the maternal gaze of Our Lady and the power of her intercession”. The Pope entrusted to the maternal protection of the Mother of God, the Capuchin Friars, the sick at the hospital and those who offer them loving care, and also the Prayer Groups which carry on the spiritual command of their Holy Founder in Italy and all over the world.
The Pontiff entrusted to the intercession of Our Lady and san Pio da Pietrelcina “the Year of the Priesthood … may it be a special occasion to highlight the value of the mission and the holiness of priests at the service of the Church and of humanity in the third millennium!” He invited those present to pray “for the difficult and at times dramatic situation of refugees. Yesterday was the World Refugee Day promoted by the United Nations. Many seek refuge in another country fleeing situations of war, persecution, calamities, receiving them creates no few difficulties yet it is nonetheless our duty. Please God, with commitment from everyone, may everything possible be done to remove the causes of this sad phenomenon.”
Lastly, after greeting the pilgrims who had gathered for the occasion, and thanking the civil authorities and all who helped to prepare the visit, the Pope said once again: “walk the path indicated by Padre Pio, the path of holiness according to the Gospel of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Along this path the Blessed Virgin Mary with a maternal hand leads and guides you to the heavenly homeland ”.
The Pope then said a few words in Polish greeting participants at celebrations for the 1000th anniversary of the martyrdom of St Bruno di Querfurt “who today, at Giżycko, thank God for the gift of the faith carried to them by this great Missionary. May his efforts to build good relations between nations bear fruits of harmony and of zeal for the proclamation of the Gospel ”. 

In the afternoon of Sunday 21 June, in front of the monumental entrance of the Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza at San Giovanni Rotondo, the Holy Father, Benedict XVI, addressed the patients, medical, paramedical and administration staff and family members.
“Every time we enter a hospital, our thoughts turn naturally to the mystery of sickness and pain, to the hope of healing and the inestimable value of good health, which we often only realise when it is lost – said Benedict XVI in his address -. In hospitals we have proof of the precious nature of our life and also of its fragility. Following the example of Jesus, who went all over Galilee, ‘healing people all sorts of sicknesses and infirmities (Mt 4,23), the Church, from the beginning, moved by the Holy Spirit, considered it a duty and a privilege to assist the suffering, cultivating preferential care for the sick ”.
At the beginning of his discourse the Holy Father recalled the reason which led Padre Pio to build the hospital [in 1956, today 1,000 beds]: his intention “was that in this medical centre people would have proof that the science of caring for the sick must never be separated from filial trust in God, infinite in his loving mercy".
With regard to the mystery of sickness and pain the Pope said “most existential questions remain humanly unanswered, since suffering constitutes an inscrutable enigma for reason. Suffering is part of the very mystery of the human person”. He then cited his Encyclical Spe salvi, where he affirmed " Indeed, we must do all we can to overcome suffering, but to banish it from the world altogether is not in our power. ..because we are unable to shake off our finitude and because none of us is capable of eliminating the power of evil…a constant source of suffering." (cfr n.36). And he continued: “The only person who can eliminate the power of evil is God. Precisely
because Jesus Christ came into the world to reveal to us the divine plan of our salvation, faith helps us penetrate the meaning of all that is human, hence also of suffering. There exists, then, an intimate bond between the Cross of Jesus - symbol of supreme pain and price of our true freedom - and
our own suffering, which is transformed and made sublime when lived with an awareness of God's closeness and solidarity. Padre Pio grasped this profound truth … at Casa Sollievo ne wished for ‘patients, doctors, priests to be reserves of love, and the more abundant the love, the more it will be communicated to others.” 
Benedict XVI concluded: “Being ‘reserves of love: This, dear brothers and sisters, is the mission to which our Saints calls you who, with different roles, form the great family of this Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza. May the Lord help you to carry on the project launched by Padre Pio with the contribution of each and all”. 

The last appointment of the pastoral visit of the Holy Father Benedict XVI at San Giovanni Rotondo, in the afternoon of Sunday 21 June, was with the local clergy, men and women religious and young people gathered in the church of San Pio da Pietrelcina. “Here, in San Giovanni Rotondo, everything speaks of the holiness of the humble friar and zealous priest, who this evening urges us to open our hearts to God's mercy; he exhorts us to be saints, that is sincere and true friends of Jesus,”

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 the Pope said in his address.
Mentioning the Year of the Priesthood which has just opened, the Pope said “like the Cure of Ars, Padre Pio reminds us of the dignity and the responsibility of the priestly ministry … From his love for the Eucharist flowed, like the Cure of Ars, total readiness to listen to the faithful, sinners especially. Moreover, if St Jean Marie Vianney, in tormented and difficult times, sought in every way, to help his people rediscover the significance and the beauty of sacramental penance, for the holy Friar of Gargano, caring for souls and conversion of sinners was a longing which consumed him until his death. How many changed their way of life thanks to his patient priestly ministry; how many long hours spent in the confessional! Like the Cure of Ars, it is precisely the ministry of confessor which constitutes the greatest title of glory and distinctive trait of this saintly Capuchin Friar. How can we fail to realise the importance of participating devoutly at the Eucharistic celebration and receiving frequently the sacrament of Confession? In particular, the sacrament of Penance needs to be valorised more, and priests should never be resigned to seeing their confessionals empty or disaffection among the faithful for this extraordinary source of serenity and peace”.
Another great teaching of Padre Pio concerned the value and necessity of prayer, “he prayed always and everywhere with humility, confidence and perseverance ”. The Holy Father said, addressing not only priests, but all Christians, religious men and women in particular: “At times we can be discouraged to see the weakening and even the loss of faith, in our secularised societies. Certainly it is necessary to find new channels for communicating the truth of the Gospel to the men and women of our day, but since the essential content of the Christian message is always the same, it is necessary to return to its original source, to Jesus Christ, who is ‘the same, yesterday, today and for ever" (Heb 13,8). From the human and spiritual vicissitudes of Padre Pio we learn that only a soul intimately united with the Crucified Christ can transmit even to those who are distant, the joy and the richness of the Gospel. Love for Christ is inevitably linked with love for his Church, guided and animated with the power of the Holy Spirit, and in which each of us has a role and a mission. Dear priests, dear men and women religious, diverse are the tasks entrusted to you and the charisma which you interpret, but one must always be the spirit with which they are undertaken so that your presence and your work among the Christian people, may be eloquent testimony of the primacy of God in your lives”. 
The Holy Father reserved the last part of his discourse for the young people: “I am aware of the difficulties you face, dear boys and girls, which threaten to suffocate the enthusiasm typical of your age. Among these difficulties I mention in particular the phenomenon of unemployment, which affects many young people in southern Italy. Never lose heart!... The Church will never abandon you. And you cannot abandon the Church! Your contribution is necessary to build authentic living Christian communities and societies which are more just and open to hope. And if you wish to have a "great heart", imitate Jesus”. The Pope concluded with this exhortation addressed to everyone present: “Like Padre Pio, be faithful friends of the Lord Jesus, establishing with Him a daily relationship through prayer and listening to his Word, assiduous reception of the Sacraments and cordial membership of his family, the Church. This must be the basis of the programme of life for each one of you dear young people and you dear priests and men and women religious”. 

(S.L.) (Agenzia Fides 22/6/2009; righe 49, parole 715)