We too, the Charismatic Family of Saint Jeanne-Antide, ‘wish to join our prayers of condolence for him who was Shepherd of God’s people, but also for all humanity’. Thus begins the Circular Letter of Mother Maria Rosa dated 21 April 2025, ‘In memory of Pope Francis’.
In it, we are asked that today’s pain and gratitude not be just a moving memory, but a call to responsibility to consciously welcome his precious legacy and make it fruitful in new evangelical paths with the poor and for the poor.
The Circular, in fact, recalls – so that they may not be forgotten – two encounters of Pope Francis with the Sisters of Charity, with their message of inspiration and encouragement:
his unexpected visit to the General House on 14 March 2017
his Address to the Participants in the 2021 General Chapter.
Pope Francis’ visit to the General House
To our great surprise, on 14 March 2017, Pope Francis arrived in his small car, accompanied only by his driver.
Having listened to a passage from the Rule of Life of the Sisters of Charity, Francis addressed us with words that have become unforgettable:
‘I was very struck to hear that ‘Through the Spirit, the Lord goes before us in the hearts and lives of the poor’. This is true. He always goes before us. And when He does not go before us, it is because we have taken the wrong path. There you have it! There are two privileged places where we cannot go wrong: the tabernacle, where Jesus, the Beloved, is present, and the hearts and lives of the poor. If you are there, you will not go wrong: one foot in the tent and one foot in the heart of the poor.
And this is your charism. Go where? In the Rule of St. Vincent de Paul, it was clear how to live, where to live, what to eat, how to dress, how to get by, how many bank accounts to have:
‘They shall have for monastery the houses of the sick,
for a cell, a rented room,
for a chapel, the parish church,
for a cloister, the streets of the city,
for enclosure, obedience,
for a grate, the fear of God,
for a veil, holy modesty.’
And so we must live a lifestyle with one foot in the Tent of the Tabernacle and the other in the life and in the heart of the poor. You will not go wrong! Go forward! Of course, the Lord sometimes leads us down strange, difficult paths, even the path of martyrdom. Martyrdom as witness: burning one’s life in service. Serving. Serving’.
His Address to the Participants in the 2021 General Chapter
On 21 October 2021, Pope Francis received the participants in the General Chapter in the Clementine Hall, addressing them with words that remain engraved in the hearts of each of us:
‘And you, Sisters of Charity, what is your original contribution? I seem to see that the theme of your Chapter contains an answer: Starting afresh from Bethany, with the solicitude of Martha and the listening of Mary.
I am certain that if you truly succeed in living with solicitude and listening, following the example of the holy sisters Martha and Mary of Bethany, you will continue to make your valuable contribution to the journey of the whole Church.
In particular, solicitude towards the poor and listening to the poor. Here you are teachers. You are teachers not with words, but with deeds, with the story of so many of your sisters who gave their lives for this, in solicitude and listening close to the elderly, the sick, the marginalised; close to the little ones, to the least, with the tenderness and compassion of God. This builds up the Church, makes her walk in the way of Christ, which is the way of charity.
I said that yours is a witness of closeness to the least, with tenderness and compassion. This is God’s style: closeness, tenderness and compassion. God always acts in this way. To the extent that we do the same, we will be more like shepherds like God.
Do not forget this: always closeness, always compassion and always tenderness.
