Pope Francis delivered a heartfelt message to Slovak pilgrims participating in the Jubilee of Hope, reminding them that “faith is a treasure to be shared with joy”. The Holy Father expressed his closeness to them in prayer, regretting that he had been unable to meet with them due to his convalescence.
The Pope emphasized that the pilgrimage is “a concrete sign of the desire to renew faith, to strengthen the bond with the Successor of Peter, and to joyfully bear witness to the hope that never disappoints, because it is born of the love poured out from the pierced Heart of Christ and communicated to us by the Holy Spirit”.
He encouraged the faithful to imitate Mary’s “yes” and become “an instrument in God’s hands to accomplish something great”. The Pope also invited them to listen with a synodal spirit “to what the Spirit says to his Churches, without fear of what is new, but discerning in it God’s initiative, which always surprises us”.
The Holy Father concluded by invoking the Virgin Mary, patroness of Slovakia, saying, “May the Virgin Mary, patroness of Slovakia, whom you venerate especially as Our Lady of Seven Sorrows and who, through her union with the Passion of her Son, is the Mother of Hope, guide and protect you”.