Pope Francis' lesson on what the Church must be for Christians

Papa Francesco today it was at the St. Martin's Cathedral in Bratislava for meeting with bishops, priests, men and women religious, seminarians and catechists. The Pontiff was welcomed at the entrance of the Cathedral by the archbishop of Bratislava and president of the Slovak Bishops' Conference Monsignor Stanislav Zvolensky and by the parish priest who hands him the crucifix and holy water for sprinkling. Then, they continued down the central nave while a chant is performed. Francis received a floral tribute from a seminarian and a catechist, who then deposited in front of the Blessed Sacrament. After a moment of silent prayer, the Pope reached the altar again.

Bergoglio said: "It is the first thing we need: a Church that walks together, who walks the roads of life with the torch of the Gospel lit. The Church is not a fortress, a potentate, a castle located high up that looks at the world with distance and sufficiency ”.

And again: “Please, let's not give in to the temptation of magnificence, of worldly grandeur! The Church must be humble like Jesus, who emptied himself of everything, who made himself poor to enrich us: thus he came to live among us and heal our wounded humanity ”.

"There, a humble Church that does not separate itself from the world is beautiful and he does not look at life with detachment, but lives inside it. Living inside, let's not forget: sharing, walking together, welcoming the questions and expectations of the people ", added Francis who specified:" This helps us to get out of self-referentiality: the center of the Church is not the Church! We get out of excessive concern for ourselves, for our structures, for how society looks at us. Instead, let us immerse ourselves in the real life of the people and ask ourselves: what are the spiritual needs and expectations of our people? what do you expect from the Church? ”. To answer these questions, the Pontiff proposed three words: freedom, creativity and dialogue.