Pope Francis began by wishing everyone a good day and ended by wishing everyone a good lunch.
Pope Francis smiled and laughed, interacting in a personal way with a crowd of over 150,000 people.
Pope Francis made a joke after mentioning a book by Cardinal Walter Kasper that he was not trying to promote the sale of books by his cardinals.
Pope Francis mentioned an old lady who deeply moved him when she said to him, “The Lord forgives all things. If God did not forgive all things, the world would not exist.”
The most profound yet simple words from his message today were “Never forget this: God never gets tired of forgiving us, but it is us who get tiered of asking for forgiveness. Let us never get tired. He is the loving Father who always forgives, who has a heart of mercy for all of us.“
“We have need to understand the mercy of God. This merciful Father who has so much patience.”
It surprised me that the Pope did not greet pilgrims in various languages, only in Italian. Perhaps he is trying to solidify his identity as the Bishop of Rome by speaking only in Italian? In his greetings after the Angelus, he specifically greeted Romans by extending a hug to all of them. His first words from the loggia on Wednesday were about him being the Bishop of Rome and how the cardinals had gone to the ends of the earth to find a bishop for the city. Just a thought.
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