Pope Francis urges Passionists to help 'the crucifix of our age'

On Thursday Pope Francis urged members of the Passionist Order to deepen their commitment to the "crucifixes of our age" on the occasion of the 300th anniversary of their foundation.

In a message on Fr. Joachim Rego, superior general of the Congregation of the Passion of Jesus Christ, the pope challenged the order to focus on helping the poor, the weak and the oppressed.

"Do not tire of accentuating your commitment to the needs of humanity", said the Pope in the message released on November 19. "This missionary call is directed above all towards the crucified of our time: the poor, the weak, the oppressed and those rejected by many forms of injustice".

The pope sent the message, dated October 15, as Passionists prepared to launch a jubilee year celebrating the founding of the order by St. Paul of the Cross in Italy in 1720.

The jubilee year, whose theme is "Renewing our mission: prophecy of gratitude and hope", will begin on Sunday 22 November and will end on 1 January 2022.

The pope said that the mission of the order could only be strengthened by an "interior renewal" among the more than 2.000 members of the Passionists, present in more than 60 countries.

"The implementation of this task will require a sincere effort on your part for interior renewal, which derives from your personal relationship with the Crucified-Risen One," he said. "Only those crucified by love, as Jesus was on the cross, are able to help the crucified of history with effective words and actions".

“Indeed, it is not possible to convince others of God's love only through a verbal and informative announcement. Concrete gestures are needed to make us live this love in our love that is offered to us by sharing the situations of the crucifix, also spending one's life totally, while remaining aware that between the announcement and its acceptance in faith there is the action of the Saint. Spirit."

At 10.30 local time on 22 November the Passionist Jubilee will begin with the opening of the Holy Door in the Basilica of SS. Giovanni e Paolo in Rome, followed by the inaugural mass. Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, will be the main concelebrants and the event will be streamed.

The jubilee year will include an international congress, on “The wisdom of the cross in a pluralist world”, at the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome on 21-24 September 2021.

There will also be numerous opportunities to gain indulgences throughout the year, including by visiting Ovada, the founder's hometown, in the northern Piedmont region.

The Passionists trace their origins to November 22, 1720, the day when Paolo Danei received the habit of a hermit and began a 40-day retreat in a small cell of the Church of San Carlo in Castellazzo. During the retreat he wrote the Rule of "The poor of Jesus", which laid the foundations for the future Congregation of the Passion.

Danei took the religious name of Paul of the Cross and built the order that would become known as the Passionists due to their commitment to preaching the Passion of Jesus Christ. He died in 1775 and was canonized in 1867 by Pope Pius IX.

Passionists wear a black robe with the distinctive emblem over their hearts. The Sign of the Passion, as it is known, consists of a heart with the words “Jesu XPI Passio” (the Passion of Jesus Christ) written inside. There are three crossed nails under these words and a large white cross at the top of the heart.

In his message to the Passionists, the pope quoted his 2013 apostolic exhortation “Evangelii gaudium. "

"This significant centenary represents a providential opportunity to move towards new apostolic goals, without giving in to the temptation to 'leave things as they are'," he wrote.

“The contact with the Word of God in prayer and the reading of the signs of the times in daily events will make you perceive the creative presence of the Spirit whose effluvium over time indicates the answers to humanity's expectations. No one can escape the fact that today we live in a world where nothing is the same as before “.

He continued: “Humanity is in a spiral of changes that question not only the value of the cultural currents that have so far enriched it, but also the intimate constitution of its being. Nature and the cosmos, subject to pain and decay due to human manipulation, take on worrying degenerative traits. You too are asked to identify new lifestyles and new forms of language to proclaim the love of the Crucifix, thus giving witness to the heart of your identity ”.