REGINA CAELI WITH THE POPE
After the long confinement, for many Catholics in Rome it was a joy to know that on Sunday, May 31, the feast of Pentecost, they could return to St. Peter's Square to pray the Regina Caeli with Pope Francis. In the photo you can see - although their faces are partially covered by the obligatory masks - Francisco Sampieri (Mexico), Benjamin Ng'ambi (Malawi) and Jairuz Oliquiano (Philippines), three seminarians of the Sedes Sapientiae. Like others present in the square, with the necessary social distance, they did not want to miss the opportunity to accompany the Holy Father more closely and to pray with him and for him.
After saying good morning as always, the Pope began by emphasizing his joy at this face-to-face meeting with the faithful: "Today that the square is open, we are able to return. It is a pleasure!". Then he commented on the Gospel of the Mass of the day. And his final words were an encouragement to us to live as Christians, united among ourselves and fostering unity in the human family, the way out of this crisis and the reconstruction that will have to be undertaken:
"I wish all of you a happy Pentecost Sunday. We have such need of the light and strength of the Holy Spirit! The Church needs it to walk harmoniously and courageously, witnessing to the Gospel. And the entire human family needs it, in order to emerge from this crisis more united and not more divided. You know that from a crisis like this one we do not come out the same, as before: we emerge either better or worse. May we have the courage to change, to be better, to be better than before and to be able to build in a positive way the post-crisis of the pandemic".