Pope Francis signs the new encyclical "Brothers all" in Assisi

Pope Francis signed his new encyclical, Brothers all, on Saturday during a visit to Assisi.

On his first official trip out of Rome since the pandemic hit Italy, the pope celebrated mass at the tomb of the namesake, St. Francis of Assisi.

"Fratelli tutti", the opening words of the encyclical, means "All the brothers" in Italian. The phrase is taken from the writings of St. Francis, one of the major inspirations for the third encyclical of Pope Francis, on fraternity and social friendship. The text will be released on 4 October, the feast day of San Francesco.

The pope stopped on his way to Assisi to visit a community of cloistered Poor Clares in the Umbrian city of Spello. It was her second private visit to the community, following a surprise trip in January 2019.

Members of the Poor Clares of Santa Maria di Vallegloria visited Francis in the Vatican in August 2016, when he presented them with the apostolic constitution Vultum Dei quaerere, outlining new norms for female cloistered communities.

The pope arrived on Saturday afternoon in the rain in Assisi, making a brief stop to greet another community of Poor Clares in the country, according to ACI Stampa, CNA's Italian-language journalistic partner.

He then celebrated Mass at the tomb of San Francesco in Assisi in the Basilica of San Francesco. ACI Stampa reported that among those present were religious representing various Franciscan branches, Cardinal Agostino Vallini, papal legate for the Basilicas of San Francesco and Santa Maria degli Angeli in Assisi, the local bishop Domenico Sorrentino and Stefania Proietti, mayor of Assisi.

The mass, private but broadcast live, followed the readings for the feast of St. Francis.

The reading of the Gospel was Matthew 11: 25-30, in which Jesus praises God the Father, "because although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned, you have revealed them to children".

Jesus then says: “Come to me, all you who are toiling and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourself. For my yoke is sweet and my burden light ”.

The pope did not preach after the Gospel, but instead observed a moment of silence.

Before signing the encyclical on the tomb of St. Francis, he thanked the officials of the Vatican Secretariat of State, present at the mass, who took care of the translation of the text from Spanish into the various languages.

The 2015 encyclical of Pope Francis, Laudato si ', had a title taken from the "Canticle of the Sun" of St. Francis of Assisi. Previously he published Lumen fidei, an encyclical begun by his predecessor, Benedict XVI.

Assisi is the focal point of several major Church events this fall, including the beatification of Carlo Acutis on October 10 and the "Economy of Francis" summit, scheduled for November.