Pope Francis in the Campidoglio after 5 years: “Rome should show its hospitable and generous face”
"Thank you for this welcome", said the pontiff who alternated moments standing and in a wheelchair
ROME – Pope Francis, five years after the last time, visited the Capitoline Hill, seat of the Municipality of Rome, this morning. Here the pontiff was welcomed with full honors by the mayor of Rome, Roberto Gualtieri, amid the trumpet blasts of the body of the Faithful of Vitorchiano. Francis alternated moments standing and others in the wheelchair. And instead of the traditional view from the balcony of the mayor’s studyhe wanted to admire the remains of ancient Rome from the Tabularium.
A PLAQUE IN HONOR OF THE POPE
Here he stopped for several minutes before goingto the mayor’s study for a private conversation, at the end of which Gualtieri presented his family members to the Pope, and then entered the Giulio Cesare Hall, where a plaque was unveiled in his honor with the inscription “To His Holiness Francis, successor of Peter and bishop of Rome, promoter of care of the common home and witness of universal brotherhood”.
Shortly before, Francis had signed the golden book in the Hall of Flags, leaving this phrase, a quotation from the Aeneid, on the story of the Trojan hero who takes his old father Anchises on his shoulders”: “‘Et sublato patre montem petivi’ , with this decision Rome was born, born from afar, born on the move. To Rome, to the mayor, to his workers, my gratitude. Your Bishop Francis”.
“ROME CITY WITH A UNIVERSAL SPIRIT”
“Rome, a city with a universal spirit. This spirit – said Francis – wants to be at the service of charity, at the service of welcome and hospitality. Pilgrims, tourists, migrants, all those find in serious difficulties, the poorest, the lonely, the sick, the imprisoned, the excluded, be the most truthful witnesses of this spirit. May they testify that authority is fully such when it places itself at the service of all /strong>, when it uses its legitimate power to meet the needs of citizens and, in particular, of the weakest, the least. Rome continues to show its true face, a welcoming, hospitable, generous, noble face“.
“The enormous influx of pilgrims, tourists and migrants into the City – he added – with all that it means in terms of organisation, could be seen as an burden, a weight that slows down and hinders the normal flow of things. In reality, all of this is Rome, its specificity, unique in the world, its honor, its great attraction and its responsibility towards Italy, towards the Church, towards the human family Its problem is the reverse of its greatness and, from a crisis factor,it can become an opportunity for development: civil, social, economic, cultural“.
“LET THE AWARENESS OF THE VALUE OF ROME BE REBORN IN EVERYONE”< /strong>
“The immense treasure of culture and history nestled on the hills of Rome – he explained – is the honor and burden of its citizens and its rulers, and awaits to be adequately valued and respected. May the awareness of the value of Rome be reborn in everyone, of the symbol that it represents on all continents; and may the mutual effective collaboration between all powers be confirmed and indeed grow”.
GUALTIERI TO THE POPE: “ROME WILL BE BETTER, MORE ETHICS AND GREEN”
“We want the Jubilee of Hope to leave in Rome a legacy not only of material works– said the mayor of Rome, Roberto Gualtieri- but also a heritage of ethical and social values to offer to humanity. We are working to make Rome a great laboratory of integral ecology, to change the city and make it better, closer to people, at the forefront of reducing emissions, with new public spaces , tools of inclusion, especially in the urban and social outskirts, attentive to the simple things that girls and boys ask of us: brotherhood, friendship, peace. The Jubilee, I am sure, will make Rome better”.
“With the Jubilee, Rome will speak to the world. We will put all our efforts – added the mayor – so that it is increasingly a city that builds peace and communion, which always strives to promote and pursue unity and brotherhood among all men, who think and look at the world”.
THE MAYOR ANNOUNCES THE ‘OPENING OF AN ELDERLY HOME AND PROJECT FOR INMATES
“To our projects dedicated to the most vulnerable are added two initiatives that we have imagined as gifts for your visit and as a commitment from the city to produce tangible signs of hope, in view of the Jubilee. First of all, a new home intended for the elderly and elderly, in a property confiscated from crime in the Ostiense district, to which we wanted to give the name ‘Casa Speranza’: because it is with the strength of the community that loneliness is fought and concrete support is given to fragilities”. Thus the mayor of Rome, Roberto Gualtieri, on the occasion of Pope Francis’ visit to the Capitol.
“And then – he added – a training and job placement project intended for people deprived of their freedom in the Rebibbia prison, which we wanted to call ‘Fratelli tutti’, because the fundamental value of the brotherhood to which he calls us must translate into concrete actions to guarantee dignity and future to prisoners. At the same time we are ready to accept and relaunch His Holiness’s call to the vocation of Rome as a welcoming and open universal city, a symbolic place of peaceful coexistence between people. peoples”.
“THANKS FOR THIS WELCOME”
In the hall the Pope, after giving his speech, then greeted all the members of the council and the city councillors. “Thank you for this warm welcome, see you at the Jubilee” he said. At the end of his speech, there was an exchange of gifts: the mayor gave the Pope a silver medal in memory of the visit and a document establishing some social initiatives. Francis gave the Municipality a mosaic depicting the Arch of Titus, the mayor a triptych of medals and the aldermen, councilors and presidents of the Municipality, all greeted individually, medals and the bull announcing the Jubilee. The Pope, before leaving, finally also greeted the Capitoline employees. “Don’t forget to pray for me, in favor of me” he said, looking out from the loggia of the Capitol in front of the citizens, employees and tourists present in square.