‘sadness and pain’ for the victims of the ‘very serious shipwreck’ in the Mediterranean

At the Angelus, Francis recalled that the sea “was calm”, it would not have hindered the rescue. And for the UN World Refugee Day, which falls on June 20, he called for “everything possible” to be done for prevention. He appreciated the love and closeness during the surgery and the days that he was hospitalized. He prayed for the Rwandan students and for the Ukrainian people. God’s love is the “fundamental reality of life.”

Vatican City () – “It is with great sadness and pain that I think of the victims of the very serious shipwreck that occurred a few days ago off the coast of Greece, and it seems, it seems, that the sea was calm.” Pope Francis said at the Angelus to the faithful who packed St. Peter’s Square to greet him after his surgery at the Gemelli Polyclinic on June 7 and the long postoperative period. This is the first “public meeting” after the intervention, because last week the pontiff recited the Angelus in private in his room in the Roman hospital, where he later visited the pediatric oncology children. Referring to the tragedy of the shipwreck, the Pope strongly insisted that the sea conditions would not have prevented the rescue work. He then recalled that June 20 is the UN World Refugee Day and renewed his prayers “for those who have lost their lives”, praying that “everything possible is always done to avoid these tragedies”.

Francis also recalled “the young people who were victims of the brutal attack on a school in western Rwanda”, condemning “this fight, this war on all sides” against which we must “persevere in prayer”. This exhortation also embraces “the martyred population of Ukraine that is suffering so much” and for which he asked that they continue to pray.

Before beginning the Angelus, the pontiff expressed his gratitude for “all the human and spiritual closeness, and for the affection” that they extended to him during the days of hospitalization. “I bless God for this – he said – and I thank all of you: thank you from the bottom of my heart!” Pope Francis has just returned from laparotomy surgery, the second in less than three years, which was carried out without problems There were no complications, the same as his recovery, so he was able to be discharged this week with ease.The pontiff left the main entrance of the Gemelli in his wheelchair, in a good mood, greeting patients and journalists.Then he went to visit the Virgin in Santa Maria Maggiore and returned to the Vatican.The press room has confirmed the audiences scheduled for the next few days, except for the cancellation of the general audience on Wednesday June 21, to “preserve the postoperative recovery of the Holy Father” .

When commenting on the words of the Gospel that the liturgy proposes today, the Pope recalled Jesus’ meeting with the 12 apostles “whom he calls by name and sends out”, exhorting them “to announce one thing only”: that “the kingdom of heaven is near.” It is a reminder of the beginnings of the preaching of the kingdom of God, “his loving lordship of him” which constitutes “the fundamental reality of life.” “This is the first thing to tell people: God is not far away but he is your Father, he knows you and loves you; wants to take you by the hand, even when – the Pope underlined – you are going along steep and difficult paths, even when you fall and it is difficult for you to get up and continue walking”. The Pope then invited us to “think of ourselves as a child who walks on his father’s hand” and in this way the “big and mysterious” world seems “familiar and safe” to him, because “he feels protected”. Only in this way can he overcome fear and open up to people, find friends and discover the desire to “be great” and “do the things that he has seen his father do.” the joy of announcing”.

To be good apostles, one must be “like children”, “sit on the knees of God”, and “from there look at the world with trust and love”. Continuing his reflection, Francis then observed that to announce it is not necessary to say many words, but rather “to make gestures of love and hope in the Lord’s norms”, that is to say that “the heart of the announcement is free testimony, the service”. And leaving aside the text he was reading, the Pope lashed out at what he called “charlatans” who leave him “perplexed” because “they talk a lot and do nothing.” At the end of the Angelus, he invited them to ask the Virgin “to help us feel loved and to transmit trust and closeness to one another.”