Our Holy Father, Pope Francis has a request for each one of us that is very close to his heart. He asks us all to pray for him. Discover a new web-site that has been set up to encourage our prayers for the Pope.
When Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected as Pope on 13th March 2013, he went out on to the balcony of St Peter’s Basilica and introduced himself to the world. Traditionally new Popes end their speeches by giving a blessing to the crowd but before doing this Pope Francis asked the crowd for a favour, bowing his head, he asked the crowd to bless him and to pray for him.
Asking for our prayer is something close to the Pope’s heart. To hold the office of Pope is a great responsibility, the man chosen is the Spiritual Leader of over a billion Catholics worldwide. He is a global leader, who has a great influence on other world leaders.
His title “Pope” means “Father” and he represents God our Father in a special way, because like a good parent he guards the truth of the revelation and teaching that Jesus Christ handed on to his apostles. Simon, the chief apostle was given the name Peter or Cephas in his own language, meaning “Rock”. He was the rock on which the first Church was founded. Pope Francis is the 266th successor of Peter, the Fisherman. As Peter stood up on the day of Pentecost and proclaimed the Gospel message, so Pope Francis stands up on the world stage today and proclaims the same Gospel message that has been passed down through the Church for the past two thousand years.
Early in his Pontificate Pope Francis began a daily Twitter feed and his first message was, “Dear friends, I thank you from my heart and I ask you to continue to pray for me. “ He has also said, “The fight against evil is long and difficult. It is essential to pray constantly and to be patient.”
When Our Lady appeared to the three shepherd children at Fatima in 1917 she told them, “Pray constantly for the Holy Father.” As Christians, we are called to pray for one another, and we are called in a special way to pray for those whom God has chosen to shepherd His flock, his priests, Bishops and the supreme Bishop of Rome, the Pope.
We can all offer our support to Pope Francis by committing to pray for him. One way is to offer a Rosary daily for his intentions. The web-site www. prayforpope.org has been designed for you to register your prayer commitment for the Pope. Its aim is to get 1 million Rosaries said for his intentions.
Tweets from the Pope:
Dear young people, do not bury your talents, the gifts that God has given you! Do not be afraid to dream of great things!
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The Holy Spirit truly transforms us. With our cooperation, he also wants to transform the world we live in.
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Miracles happen. But prayer is needed! Prayer that is courageous, struggling and persevering, not prayer that is a mere formality
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Dear young people, do not be afraid of making decisive choices in life. Have faith; the Lord will not abandon you!
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