Pope Francis asks for orders to continue spreading devotion to St. Michael the Archangel

Pope Francis encouraged a Sunday religious order to continue promoting devotion to St. Michael the Archangel.

In a message released on September 27, the Pope congratulated the members of the Congregation of Archangel Michael on the next centenary of their approval by the Church authorities.

"I hope that your Religious Family can continue to spread the apostolate of St. Michael the Archangel, powerful winner of the powers of evil, seeing in this a great work of mercy for the soul and the body", he said in a message dated July 29 and addressed to p. Dariusz Wilk, the superior general of the congregation.

The Polish Blessed Bronisław Markiewicz founded the congregation, also known as the Michaelite Fathers, in 1897. He wanted to spread devotion to the archangel, following the teachings of St. John Bosco, founder of the Salesians, with whom he had joined 10 years earlier.

The pope noted that Markiewicz died in 1912, nearly a decade before the institute was officially approved by Archbishop Adam Stefan Sapieha of Krakow on September 29, 1921.

He praised the members of the order for having lived the spiritual legacy of the founder, "adapting it wisely to reality and new pastoral needs". He recalled that two of them - Blessed Władysław Błądziński and Adalbert Nierychlewski - were among the Polish martyrs of the Second World War.

"Your charisma, more relevant than ever, is characterized by your concern for poor, orphaned and abandoned children, unwanted by anyone and often considered the discarded of society," he said.

He encouraged them to stick to the order's motto, "Who is like God?" - the Hebrew meaning of "Michael" - which he described as "the victorious cry of St. Michael the Archangel ... which keeps man from selfishness".

It was not the first time that Pope Francis highlighted devotion to the archangel. In July 2013 he consecrated the Vatican to the protection of St. Michael and St. Joseph, in the presence of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI.

“In consecrating the Vatican City State to St. Michael the Archangel, I ask him to defend us from the evil one and banish him,” he said, after blessing a statue of the archangel in the Vatican Gardens.

The pope's message to the Michaelite Fathers was released the day after celebrating Mass for the Vatican City State Gendarmerie Corps, on the occasion of the feast of St. Michael, patron and protector of the body that oversees security in the Vatican, which falls on September 7. 29.

The saint is also the patron saint of the State Police, the Italian National Civil State Police, which operates in and around St. Peter's Square.

In an impromptu homily at Mass, celebrated in St. Peter's Basilica, Pope Francis thanked the members of the gendarmerie for their service.

He said: “In service one is never wrong, because service is love, it is charity, it is closeness. Service is the way in which God has chosen in Jesus Christ to forgive us, to convert us. Thank you for your service, and go forward, always with this humble but strong closeness that Jesus Christ taught us “.

On Monday, the pope met in the Vatican with members of the Public Security Inspectorate, a branch of the State Police responsible for protecting the pope when he visits the Italian territory, as well as watching over St. Peter's Square.

The meeting marked the 75th anniversary of the inspectorate. The pope noted that the body was founded in 1945 in the midst of a "national emergency" in Italy following the Nazi occupation.

“Thank you very much for your precious service, characterized by diligence, professionalism and a spirit of sacrifice,” the pope said. "Above all, I admire the patience you exercise in dealing with people from different backgrounds and cultures and - I dare say - in dealing with priests!"

He continued: “My gratitude also extends to your commitment to accompany me on trips to Rome and visits to dioceses or communities in Italy. A difficult job, which requires discretion and balance, so that the Pope's itineraries do not lose their specificity of encounter with the People of God ”.

He concluded: “May the Lord reward you as only He knows how to do it. May your patron saint, St. Michael the Archangel, protect you and the Blessed Virgin watches over you and your families. And may my blessing accompany you ".