This was a papal visit that could only begin this way.
When Pope Francis travelled to Assisi this morning to pay homage to the Umbrian saint whose name he has taken, he began his visit in the Serafico Institute for children with severe mental and physical disabilities children, situated just outside this lovely hilltop town.
As the Pope read his address in the institute, he did so to the accompaniment of a chaotic cacophony from the Serafico residents. At times, it was difficult to hear the Pope speak, so loud was the noise from the young patients.
At a certain point, the Pope abandoned his prepared text to say that Jesus is making himself heard too, amongst the cries of the children: “These children are the very wounds of Jesus, they need to be listened to and to be recognised. Jesus is hidden in their wounds.”
Just one day after he called the Lampedusa boat people tragedy in which at least 130 people drowned yesterday “a shameful disgrace”, the Pope again spoke out against a modern world in which the culture of “rejection”, of the “throwaway” predominates. The victims of this “culture”, he said, are nearly always “the weakest and the most fragile”.
With Assisi decked out in the papal yellow and white and crammed with more than 35,000 pilgrims, this visit comes at an important moment in the sixth month old pontificate of Francis.
This week, he has been meeting in the Vatican with his so-called G8 Council of eight cardinals whom he has summoned to help him govern and indeed reform the Catholic Church.
At the end of three days of meetings with the cardinals, who come from every continent, Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said yesterday that the cardinals intend to make serious changes to “Pastor Bonus”, the 1998 document which regulates the governance of the Holy See.
Underlining the importance of his “privy council”, Francis has been accompanied by all eight cardinals in Assisi today.
Later in the morning, the Pope touched on an key tenet of the Franciscan vision of the faith when he addressed of poor people, some of whom will have lunch with him today.
Speaking in the Sala Della Spoliazione, the room in the bishop’s palace where in 1206, Francis dramatically removed his clothes, renouncing on his family wealth and giving himself to God, Pope Francis said: “Christ is God, He was born naked in a manger and he died naked on the cross...Francis stripped himself of his egotistical pride and he distanced himself from the longings of this world, from money which is a false idol that possesses man. We are all called on to be poor, to strip ourselves of our trappings and for that reason we have to learn to be with the poor.”
Later in the morning, the Pope touched on an key tenet of the Franciscan vision of the faith when he addressed of poor people, some of whom will have lunch with him today.
Speaking in the Sala Della Spoliazione, the room in the Bishop’s palace where in 1206, Francis dramatically removed his clothes, renouncing on his family wealth and giving himself to God, Pope Francis said: “Christ is God, He was born naked in a manger and he died naked on the cross.
“Francis stripped himself of his egotistical pride and he distanced himself from the longings of this world, from money which is a false idol that possesses man. We are all called on to be poor, to strip ourselves of our trappings and for that reason we have to learn to be with the poor.”
This was a theme which the Pope repeated during the most solemn moment of the day when he celebrated mass in the courtyard of the Basilica of San Francesco.
Saying that St Francis had impoverished himself “in order to enrich us” and that he had been moved by a love for all of creation, Pope Francis added: “Francis was a man of harmony and peace. From this city of peace, let me say it again with the force and mercy that comes from love.
“Let us respect every human being, may all armed conflicts which spill blood be stopped, may all weapons be laid down, and may hate make way for love everywhere.”