“I invite you to pray before the crib,” Pope Francis said after the Angelus prayer this Sunday, 11 December 2022, to the pilgrims and faithful gathered in St Peter’s Square.
These are the Pope’s words after the Marian prayer, provided by the Holy See Press Office:
After the Angelus
Dear brothers and sisters!
Yesterday, in Barbacena in Brazil, Isabel Cristina Mrad Campos was beatified. This young woman was killed in 1982 at the age of twenty, in hatred of the faith, for having defended her dignity as a woman and the value of her chastity. May her heroic example inspire in particular the young to render generous witness of faith and adhesion to the Gospel. A round of applause for the new Blessed!
I follow with sorrow and concern the news from South Sudan about the violent clashes of the past few days. Let us pray to the Lord for peace and national reconciliation, so that the attacks may cease and that civilians may always be respected.
Today is World Mountain Day, which invites us to recognize the importance of this marvellous resource for the life of the planet and of humanity. The theme this year – “Women move mountains” – it is true, women move mountains! – reminds us of the role of women in caring for the environment and in safeguarding the traditions of mountain populations. From mountain people we learn the sense of community and of walking together.
I greet you all, here in Rome, from Italy and from many parts of the world. In particular, I greet the faithful from Barcelona, Valencia, Alicante, Beirut, Cairo, and those of Mexico and Poland. I greet the Tanzanian Catholic community in Italy; parish groups from Terni, Panzano in Chianti, Perugia, Nozza di Vestone; the Alpini Choir of Rome; and the representatives of citizens who live in the most polluted areas of Italy, in the hope of a just solution to their serious problems and the illnesses that come from this polluted environment.
And I would like to send a cordial greeting to the detainees in the “Due Palazzi” prison of Padua: I greet you affectionately!
And now I will bless the “Bambinelli”, the little statuettes of the Infant Jesus that you, dear boys and girls, have brought here and then, returning home, will place in the Nativity scene. I invite you to pray, before the creche, that the Nativity of the Lord will bring a ray of peace to children all over the world, especially those forced to live the terrible and dark days of war, this war in Ukraine that destroys many lives, so many lives, and many children. The blessing of the Bambinelli … [The Pope blesses them].
I wish you all a blessed Sunday and a good journey towards the Nativity of the Lord. Please, do not forget to pray for me. Enjoy your lunch, and arrivederci.
