The third prayer meeting in preparation for the Jubilee year was with several families from a neighborhood on the outskirts of Rome.
What is your name?
Gabriel.
Sending a kiss, thank you, thank you.
The emotion among the parishioners was strong and they expressed this to the Pope.
Being able to see you here, against the brick backdrop is very exciting.
And so began a dialogue of questions and answers. Pope Francis stressed the importance of creating a community.
POPE FRANCIS
The church, there is the building, but the church begins to be made in the community, seeking each other together, listening to God's word, speaking well of each other. There is also gossip. In every community there are the talkers and the gossipers and we have to repent of that but it is the reality. In a community, there are all these things but what matters is respect for others.
He also emphasized the need to care for children and the elderly.
POPE FRANCIS
Do not forget this—a parish where children are not listened to and where old people are written off is not a true Christian community.
The old are wise and the children are promising.
At the end of the meeting, some families approached the Pope to greet him and tell him some personal stories.
Thank you, thank you. This is Tomas.
And we are expecting another baby.
It's a girl.
This couple also told the Pope that they had unfortunately lost a baby girl.
The Pope greeted all those present, including a group of migrant women from Senegal and, at the end, he gifted them an image of Our Lady and the baby Jesus. And so ended his third meeting in preparation for the Jubilee. Earlier, Pope Francis had met with children preparing for their first communion and with a group of young people.
JRB
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