Dear young people of the Amalfi Coast,

I joyfully address you as you participate in the meeting “Instruments of Peace” in the Cathedral of San Lorenzo in Scala. I greet Archbishop Orazio Soricelli of Amalfi-Cava de’ Tirreni, the mayors, the institutions, and the authorities present.

Dear young people, you have chosen a beautiful theme! And the urgency we are experiencing with regard to the wars and the many people who every day lose their lives: children, the elderly, the young, men and women. Jesus lives and He wants you to be alive! Without peace, there is no life. There is only death and destruction.

There are three sure ways to become instruments of peace:

1. Fill the day with gestures of peace. In this ancient town of Scala, you can advance the path of solidarity and dialogue initiated by Blessed Fra’ Gerardo Sasso, founder and first Grand Master of the Order of the Knights of Malta. In an age of conflict he created in Jerusalem, around 1100 A.D., the first interreligious hospital. You too, following his example, can build bridges of friendship and mutual solidarity. Illuminate every hour of your day by performing a gesture of peace: a gesture of service, of tenderness, of forgiveness.

2. Pray with your heart for peace. When we feel powerless before the drama of world scenarios, let us remember that “with God nothing will be impossible” (Lk 1:37). We have a very effective weapon, which is prayer. Let us use it! Let us pray more for peace, that it may come soon. Let us invoke it with faith and confidence! Let us take on the daily commitment to personal prayer for peace. Come together to share moments of Eucharistic adoration before the Lord, King of peace.

3. Live as pilgrims of hope. With courage, do not tire of dreaming of just peace and fraternity, because this is also the dream of the Father: that His children may be united and happy, recognizing each other as brothers and sisters. Look beyond the night! Do not give in to the thought that war can solve problems and lead to peace. War is always a defeat, a shameful surrender to the forces of evil. Let us remember all the victims, whom we must never forget, and may this remembrance truly open us up to finding a way forward in the present on a path of reconciliation.

As I entrust you to the maternal intercession of Mary, Queen of Peace, I bless you and I ask you, please, to pray for me.

Fraternally,

From Casa Santa Marta, 30 August 2024

FRANCIS

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Holy See Press Office Bulletin, 3 September 2024