Over 400 Fratelli met in Assisi from 11 to 13 November to meet Pope Francis!
Among them, 200 came from several European delegations via various associations: the Order of Malta, Miséricordia, the Diaconia of Var, a group from French-speaking Switzerland, the Association for Friendship, the Village of François, the Solidarity association Notre-Dame de Tangier, the association Solidarité Notre-Dame de Tangier, the association Solidarité Notre-Dame de Tangier, the association Solidarité Notre-Dame de Tangier, the Barka group from Poland, the Barka group from Poland, the Barka group from Poland, the Barka group from Poland, the Polish Barka group, the Polish Barka group, the Polish Barka group, the Polish Barka group, the Polish Barka group, the Oeuvres de la Mie de Pain, the Massabielle association, the Maison des Plus Petits, Magdalena, a Caritas Spain group, Catholic Relief, Dzieło Pomocy Świętego Ojca Pio (Poland), and a group that came with the Order of Friars Minor from Croatia.
After a festive evening on Thursday evening marked by the testimony of Carlo Acutis's mother, they were able to Meet the Pope Friday morning. Some were able to greet him personally, among the moving testimonies of several Fratelli.
The testimony before the Pope by Gabriel Barbier, roommate of the APA:
Dear Pope Francis
A big thank you dear Pope Francis, our guide on the occasion of this World Day of the Poor. My name is Gabriel and I am from Paris. I am from APA (the association for friendship). We show you our great friendship, you know our weakness and our fragility in the face of so many humiliations. That we, the poor in spirit, know how to find our strength in God, our Savior, He is our greatest wealth. Blessed are the poor, the meek, the merciful, happy are those who thirst for justice, happy are the pure in heart. Let us always be faithful in joy, in joy and in love, even if we see ourselves ridiculed by the world, or even persecuted for the cause of the kingdom, our reward is great. Thank you dear Pope Francis for being our friend, our Fratello.
My dear friends at Fratello, I am a fighter and, like most of you, I have experienced the despair and the abandonment of this world that has become more and more merciless. My crossing of the desert was an opportunity for me to realize, after the fact of course, the love of God.
Always a benevolent character, I think that it is in situations of great precariousness and abandonment that the Lord calls us to great joy for those who know how to hear him, to seek him. For he said, “Seek Me with all your heart and I will let myself be found.” I had an immense desire to be baptized, coming from an atheist family, and Jesus transformed me to the point of desiring holiness.
But what I fear is precisely that I will not think of God in temptations and that I will not be able to invoke my God to you.
The grace that I ask of you (for me and all of us gathered here) and that I dare to ask you, O Most Holy Virgin, is to always remember to invoke you by saying to yourself: “O Mary, help me! O Mary, come to my aid! ”
My dear Pope Francis, we will also continue to pray for you with all our heart.
Strong moments of prayer and fraternity
We had the chance to experience magnificent times of prayer, animated by Chemin Neuf and Grégory Turpin.
On the evening of a Friday punctuated by various activities (visits, meetings with Franciscan friars, sharing groups), the groups set off in procession through the streets of Assisi, to the Lower Basilica of Saint Francis, to experience a magnificent vigil of mercy.
At the end of the Saturday mass chaired by Monsignor Barbarin, all the Fratelli gathered around the altar to Praying for priests.
A shower of graces!
Thanks to the volunteers on site for their presence and their effectiveness in managing the groups and the material organization of the event!
Find photos of the JMP in France and around the world by clicking here.
