Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - The new Apostolic Exhortation of Pope Francis "Gaudete et exultate" on the "call to holiness in the contemporary world" was presented today at the Vatican. It is a document in five chapters and 177 paragraphs that invites to be saints today. Holiness - says the Pope - is not a call for the few but is a way for everyone, to live in everyday life: "The Lord asks for everything, and what he offers is true life, happiness. He wants us to be saints and does not expect us to settle for a mediocre, watered down, inconsistent existence", writes Francis.
Below is a reflection, by Gianni Valente, Agenzia Fides journalist, who presented the Exhortation in the Vatican Press Office, commenting on the central part of the document.
VATICAN/ANGELUS - All Saints Day: “How much hidden saintliness there is in the Church!”
ASIA/CHINA - Pilgrimage: Catholics of Tangshan make a pilgrimage to the place of work of the Blessed Franciscan missionary sister Maria Assunta Pallotta
AMERICA/USA - Archbishop Nappa to the representatives of the Pontifical Mission Societies in the USA: May gratitude be the source of your contribution to the mission of the Universal Church
ASIA/CHINA - Italian President Mattarella pays homage to the missionaries buried near Lake Xizi together with Bishop Yang
ASIA/PHILIPPINES - Mindanao Relgious Leaders Conference: “We are peacemakers”
OCEANIA/PAPUA NEW GUINEA - The baptized do not want Christianity as a "state religion"