Pope reflects on feast of Corpus Christi

On the day after his short visit to Sarajevo, Pope Francis once again joined thousands of pilgrims in St Peter's Square for the Angelus on Sunday. Addressing the crowds gathered beneath the window of the Papal apartments in the Apostolic Palace, he focussed his remarks before the prayers on the Gospel reading of the day for the Feast of Corpus Christi.

"The solemnity of Corpus Christi evokes this message of solidarity and encourages us to embrace the intimate call to conversion to service, to love, and to forgiveness," said Pope Francis. "It encourages us to become in our life, imitators of what we celebrate in the liturgy," he explained. "Christ, who nourishes us under the consecrated bread and wine, is the same Christ, whom we meet during the course of everyday life: He is in the poor person who holds out his hand. He is the suffering person who asks for help; He is in the brother or sister who asks us to be there and awaits our welcome; He is in the child who knows nothing about Jesus, about salvation, who does not have the faith; He is in every human being, even the smallest and most defenseless."

Following the Angelus, Pope Francis spoke about the World Day against Child Labour which takes place this coming Friday. "Many children in the world do not have the freedom to play, to go to school, and end up being exploited as cheap labor," he said, adding, "I hope the international community will remain attentively and steadfastly committed to the active promotion and effective recognition of children's rights."

Pope Francis also looked forward to the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart, which will be celebrated this coming Friday as well. "On the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, let us think of the love of Jesus, of how He has loved us," said the Holy Father.

He concluded by reflecting on his visit to the city of Sarajevo, one he made as, "a pilgrim of peace and hope."

"I renew my gratitude to the authorities and all the citizens for their warm welcome.. In particular, I thank the dear Catholic community, to which I desired to bring the love of the universal Church. I appreciate the commitment to collaboration and solidarity among people of different religions, urging everyone to continue the work of spiritual and moral reconstruction of society: they work together as true brothers and sisters."

"The Lord bless Sarajevo and Bosnia and Herzegovina," he concluded.

Source: Vatican Radio