The Nice community of the Sisters of Charity had the joy of being present in the churchyard of the Church of Saint Devota, where the Pope met with young people and young and adult catechumens from the Principality of Monaco.
After thanking the Archbishop of Monaco, Monsignor Dominique-Marie David, for his welcome, the Pope recalled the story of the saint after whom the church is named, a martyr from Corsica. “A courageous young woman who was able to bear witness to her faith in the face of the violence of her persecutors”, under Emperor Diocletian.
Her message “of peace and love of the Gospel” has reached “far and wide”, despite attempts to “destroy her”, he added. “She helps us to reflect on the fact that good is stronger than evil”.
The Pope highlighted the need “for prayer, for moments of silence, for listening, to silence the frenzy of doing and saying, of messages, of reels, of chats, and to deepen and savour the beauty of truly and concretely being together”. Hence the invitation to experience the approaching Holy Week in “an atmosphere of listening to the voice of the Spirit and to what is happening in one’s own heart, making it an opportunity for a serene and profound review of one’s life”.
After thanking the Archbishop of Monaco, Monsignor Dominique-Marie David, for his welcome, the Pope recalled the story of the saint to whom the church is dedicated, a martyr from Corsica. “A courageous young woman who was able to bear witness to her faith in the face of the violence of her persecutors”, under Emperor Diocletian. Her message “of peace and love of the Gospel” has reached “far and wide”, despite attempts to “destroy her”, he added. “It helps us to reflect on the fact that good is stronger than evil”.
