Before the Regina Coeli

After the Regina Coeli

At the end of the Holy Mass celebrated in the Vatican Basilica on the Sunday of Pentecost, Pope Francis appeared at the window of his study in the Vatican Apostolic Palace to pray the Regina Coeli with the faithful and pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square.

The following is the Pope’s introduction to the Easter time Marian prayer:

Before the Regina Coeli

Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!

Today’s Feast of Pentecost is the culmination of Easter time, centred on the death and resurrection of Jesus. This solemnity reminds us of and revives the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles and the other disciples, gathered in prayer with the Virgin Mary in the Cenacle (cf. Acts 2: 1-11). On that day there began the history of Christian holiness, because the Holy Spirit is the source of holiness, which is not the privilege of a few, but the vocation of all.

Indeed, by Baptism we are all called to participate in the same divine life of Christ and, with Confirmation, to become His witnesses in the world. “The Holy Spirit bestows holiness in abundance among God’s holy and faithful people” (Apostolic Exhortation Gaudete et exsultate, 6). “God, however, does not make men holy and save them merely as individuals, without bond or link between one another. Rather has it pleased Him to bring men together as one people, a people which acknowledges Him in truth and serves Him in holiness” (Dogmatic Constitution Lumen gentium, 9).

Through the ancient prophets the Lord had already announced His plan to the people. Ezekiel: “And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. … You will be my people, and I will be your God” (36: 27-28). The prophet Joel: “I will pour out my spirit on all flesh; your sons and daughters shall prophesy. ... Even upon the menservants and maidservants in those days, I will pour out my spirit. ... All who call upon the name of the Lord shall be delivered” (3:1-2.5). And all these prophesies are fulfilled in Jesus Christ, “mediator and guarantor of the everlasting effusion of the Spirit” (Roman Missal, Preface after the Ascension). And today is the feast of the outpouring of the Spirit.

From that day of Pentecost, and until the end of time, this holiness, whose fullness is Christ, is given to all those who open themselves to the action of the Holy Spirit and strive to be obedient to Him. It is the Spirit Who lets us experience full joy. By coming into us, the Holy Spirit defeats aridity, opens the heart to hope and stimulates and favours the inner maturation of the relationship with God and with neighbour. It is as Saint Paul says: “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (Gal 5: 22). The Spirit does all this in us. This is why today we celebrate this richness that the Father gives us.

Let us ask the Virgin Mary to obtain a renewed Pentecost for the Church today too, a renewed youthfulness that may give us the joy of living and bearing witness to the Gospel and “pour out upon us a fervent longing to be saints for God’s greater glory” (Gaudete et exsultate, 177).

After the Regina Coeli

Dear brothers and sisters,

Pentecost leads us with the heart to Jerusalem. Yesterday evening I spiritually joined in the prayer vigil for peace that took place in that city, holy for Jews, Christians and Muslims. And today let us continue to invoke the Holy Spirit so that He may inspire goodwill and gestures of dialogue and of reconciliation in the Holy Land and in all the Middle East.

I wish to dedicate a particular thought to the beloved Venezuela. I ask that the Holy Spirit give to all the Venezuelan people – everyone, governors and people – the wisdom to find the path of peace and unity. I also pray for the detainees who died yesterday.

The event of Pentecost marks the origin of the universal mission of the Church. Therefore today the Message for the next World Missionary Day is published. And I also like to remember that yesterday marked 175 years since the birth of the Pontifical Society of the Holy Childhood, in which children are the agents of mission, with prayer and small daily gestures of love and service. I thank and encourage all the children who participate in spreading the Gospel in the world. Thank you!

I address a cordial greeting to you, pilgrims from Italy and from various Countries. In particular, the students of the Colegio Irabia-Izaga of Pamplona, the group from the Colégio São Tomás of Lisbon and the faithful of Neuss, Germany.

I greet the Schola cantorum  of Vallo della Lucania, the faithful of Agnone and those of San Valentino in Abruzzo Citeriore, the young candidates for Confirmation from San Cataldo, the “Young Friends” social cooperative of Terrassa Padovana and the “Caterina di Santa Rosa” School of Rome, celebrating 150 years since its establishment.

Dear brothers and sisters,

I am glad to announce that on 29 June I will hold a Consistory for the appointment of fourteen new cardinals. Their origins express the universality of the Church, who continues to announce God’s merciful love to all men on earth.

Moreover, the insertion of the new cardinals in the diocese of Rome, expresses the inseparable link between the See of Peter and the particular Churches throughout the world.

These are the names of the new cardinals: His Beatitude Louis Raphaël I Sako, Patriarch of Babylon of the Chaldeans; H.E. Msgr. Luis Ladaria, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith; H.E. Msgr. Angelo De Donatis, vicar general of Rome; H.E. Msgr. Giovanni Angelo Becciu, substitute for the General Affairs of the Secretariat of State and special delegate to the Sovereign Military Order of Malta; H.E. Msgr. Konrad Krajewski, apostolic almoner; H.E. Msgr. Joseph Coutts, archbishop of Karachi; H.E. Msgr. António dos Santos Marto, bishop of Leiria-Fátima; H.E. Msgr. Pedro Barreto, archbishop of Huancayo; H.E. Msgr. Desiré Tsarahazana, archbishop of Toamasina; H.E. Msgr. Giuseppe Petrocchi , archbishop of L’Aquila; H.E. Msgr. Thomas Aquinas Manyo, archbishop of Osaka.

Along with them, I will join with the members of the College of Cardinals an archbishop, a bishop and a religious who are distinguished for their service to the Church: H.E. Msgr. Sergio Obeso Rivera, archbishop emeritus of Xalapa; H.E. Msgr. Toribio Ticona Porco, prelate emeritus of Corocoro; and Rev. Fr. Aquilino Bocos Merino, Claretian.

Let us pray for the new cardinals, so that, confirming their following of Christ, merciful and faithful Supreme Priest (cf. Heb 2: 17), they may help me in my ministry as bishop of Rome for the good of all the faithful Holy People of God.

And I wish you all a good Sunday. And please, do not forget to pray for me. Have a good lunch, and goodbye!