ADDRESS OF POPE FRANCIS
TO THE COLLEGE OF PERSONNEL
OF THE PONTIFICAL ANTECHAMBER AND THEIR FAMILIES

Clementine Hall
Thursday, 16 January 2014

 

Dear Friends,

I am very happy to meet you and I wish to offer you and your families my best wishes for the year that has just begun.

You are at home here, and I am grateful to you for the service you perform at the audiences, ceremonies and other official receptions. I greatly appreciate the attention and warmth with which you carry out your work, in a spirit of welcome inspired by love for the Church and the Pope.

Let us ask ourselves: to whom does the Pontifical Household belong? Who is the master of this house? The Pontifical Household belongs to all of the members of the Catholic Church, who may experience here hospitality, family warmth and support for their faith. And the true Master of the House is the Lord, whose disciples we all are, as servants of his Gospel. This requires that we cultivate a constant dialogue with him in prayer, that we grow in his friendship and intimacy, and that we bear witness to his merciful love towards everyone. Performed in this spirit, your work can become an occasion for communicating the joy of belonging to the Church.

Yesterday’s liturgy presented us with the figure of the young Samuel who, dwelling in the Temple of Jerusalem, recognized the voice of the Lord and responded to his call (cf. 1 Sam 3:9). May this setting also be for you a place to listen to God who speaks to you, who calls you to serve him in an ever more mature and generous way.

Dear friends, may the Lord bless your families, and may Our Lady protect them always. I ask you to please pray for me! Thank you