Skip to content

Pope Francis To Slovak pilgrims: ‘Bear Witness Joyfully To Hope That Does Not Disappoint’

Pope Francis on Friday shared a message with Slovak pilgrims, including Slovakia’s President Peter Pellegrini, in Rome for the 2025 Jubilee Year of Hope.

Pope Francis on Friday shared a message with Slovak pilgrims, including Slovakia’s President Peter Pellegrini, in Rome for the 2025 Jubilee Year of Hope.

In a written message released by the Vatican, the Holy Father welcomed approximately 4,300 Slovak pilgrims who began their jubilee pilgrimage this week with the celebration of Mass at the Basilica of St. John Lateran.

“I would very much have liked to be present with you to share this moment of faith and communion, but I am still in convalescence and so I will join you through prayer and with all my affection,” the pope’s message read.

Pellegrini on Thursday posted on X that he “promised” the Holy Father that he would join his country’s national pilgrimage to Rome when he visited the Vatican in December of last year.

Archbishop Bernard Bober of Košice, chair of the Conference of Slovak Bishops, is also among the group of pilgrims made up of hundreds of lay faithful, consecrated men and women, priests, and bishops who plan to pass through the jubilee Holy Doors and visit the tombs of apostles and martyrs in Rome over the next few days.

In his message, the Holy Father encouraged participants to continue their country’s “rich Christian tradition” as witnesses of hope and joy, following in the footsteps of countless saints — including patron Sts. Cyril and Methodius — “who have irrigated [Slovakia] with the Gospel of Christ for more than a thousand years.”

“Your pilgrimage is a concrete sign of the desire to renew faith, to strengthen the bond with the successor of Peter, and to bear witness joyfully to the hope that does not disappoint (cf. Romans 5:5), because it is born of the love that sprang from the pierced heart of Christ and poured into us by the Holy Spirit,” the pope said.

Describing faith as “a treasure to be shared with joy,” the Holy Father said welcoming God’s “plan” does not mean having all the answers but rather trusting that “wherever he leads us, he precedes us also with his grace.”

“Every time brings with it challenges and hardships, but also opportunities to grow in confidence and in abandonment to God,” he said, adding: “Our ‘yes,’ simple and sincere, can become a tool in the hands of God to achieve something great.”

Entrusting the Slovak group to their patroness Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows to guide and protect them on their journey, the pope concluded his message with a special blessing for their families and country.

“Sisters and brothers, continue to walk together, pastors and faithful, keeping your eyes on Jesus, our salvation … Do not forget to pray for me,” he said.

This article was originally published on Catholic News Agency.

SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER HERE

Receive the most important news from EWTN Vatican via WhatsApp. It has become increasingly difficult to see Catholic news on social media. Subscribe to our free channel today

Share

Would you like to receive the latest updates on the Pope and the Vatican

Receive articles and updates from our EWTN Newsletter.

More news related to this article

Secretary of Benedict XVI explains why he destroyed his personal documents

Monsignor Georg Gänswein, the personal secretary of Pope Benedict XVI for decades, explained that he destroyed the late

In Vatican Meetings, Catholic Land Movement Proclaims Faith, Family, And Farming

Rediscover faith and family through the Catholic Land Movement! Learn how this growing initiative is helping Catholic families return to the land, build community, and glorify God in rural homesteads.

Pope Francis in new interview: ‘Church has to change’ in favor of human dignity

Pope Francis, speaking in a new interview published by a media outlet in his native Argentina, said the

Why the Church Has Celebrated the Chair of St. Peter Feast for 1,600 Years

Every year on Feb. 22, the Catholic Church celebrates the feast of the Chair of St. Peter, a tradition that dates back more than 1,600 years.

The Historical Origins of Veronica’s Veil: Inside the Cloth Relic of Jesus’ Holy Face Wiped on Calvary

In Vatican City, on the Fifth Sunday of Lent, an extraordinary liturgy takes place at St. Peter’s Basilica:

Vatican creates an observatory to study possible apparitions of the Virgin Mary

The Vatican creates an Observatory of apparitions and mystical phenomena linked to the Virgin Mary to study the various cases whose authenticity has not yet been approved by the Church.

LIVE
FROM THE VATICAN

Be present live on EWTN.it