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Rome Pilgrimage 2015
(continued)
over; each one of them told her what they said to the Pope
and what his response was to them. This exchange with the
Pope somehow amended the fact in indicating as to why
the Pope was not given our name, so as to greet our group.
Pope Francis that same day asked for forgiveness for the
latest scandals in the Church. These were his words:
“Before starting today’s catechesis, on behalf of the
Church, I want to ask for forgiveness for the scandals
of the Church, in recent times, be it in Rome or in the
Vatican. I ask for forgiveness.”
Among those present at St.
Peter’s Squarewere the 33Chileanminers whowere trapped
underground for 70 days at the Copiapo mines in 2010.
“I
believe that any one of you is capable of coming up here
and telling us what
hope means. Thank
you for hoping in
God,”
the Pope told
them. He continued:
“Love
is
the
promise that man
and woman make
to each child: from
the moment he or
she is conceived in
thought. Children
come into the world
and expect to have
confirmation of this promise: they expect it in a total,
confident, vulnerable way”.
After enjoying some free time inside the Vatican area, we
all went to celebrate the Maronite Mass by His Excellency
Bishop Simon Attallah from Lebanon at the Church of
Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, located close to our hotel.
Father Nabil Mouanes’ words in the homily were filled
with the Holy Spirit, as he was thanking Jesus for gathering
all the clergy from so many nations together. He thanked
Our Mother Mary of Guadalupe for gathering us together
to celebrate the Maronite Rite and be one. He continued
by thanking Our Lord for the messages of True Life in
God and for the Pope who stands at the right direction,
summoning the Churches for a common date for Easter.
The Mass ended with the singing of Ave Maria guided
by Monsignor Elie Zouein. We gave thanks to Our Lord
by singing the Our Father in Aramaic. After the prayer,
Bishop Simon Attallah thanked Jesus for being with us at
this pilgrimage.
While walking out of the Church, some of our group still
in high spirits continued singing the
Doxa-Doxa
and the
passersby whether they were walking, driving a car or sitting on
a bus were stopping by to take pictures and videos of our group.
Later on that afternoon, in the assembly hall, many of
the pilgrims wanted to know what the clergy who had
spoken to Pope Francis said to him, and what the Pope
had subsequently replied. So, they were asked to give
their witness. The pilgrims were exhilarated with joy
and consoled, for this was indeed a small triumph. That
evening we heard a talk by Pastor Monels from the
Evangelical Church, who kindly accepted our invitation
to speak to us brief ly about unity and the importance of
it, especially in our times. Christians must understand
that division does them no good. Our program finally
ended with the Healing Service. As usual, all of the clergy
was asked to be at the front of the room, while the ushers
escorted the pilgrims who wanted to be prayed over, row
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Pilgrims at healing service
Singing of psalms during Mass by Congolese pilgrims