I need to offer two preliminary thoughts. First, I greet you with affection and thank you for choosing this cathedral as the conclusion of your pilgrimage to Assisi—a choice that honors the sign of the Church's unity here. I thank you for this gesture toward the Church of God in this place.
My second thought is this: perhaps in this moment I am celebrating the most beautiful Eucharist of my time here. Yet in five and a half years as bishop in Assisi, this cathedral has witnessed many great events; it has held larger crowds, even the Pope himself. The offering that rises to God now—it carries within it, in you as in me, so much prayer and longing. It is a singular offering, woven of hardship, of sacrifice, of difficult moments and moments open to hope. Because the Eucharist is Christ's offering to the Father, I believe that in uniting our offering—so meaningful, so varied—we make a great Eucharist in this moment.
I thank you for this gesture toward the Church of God in this place
I thank you for this gesture toward the Church of God in this placeYour pilgrimage carries a symbolism that opens us to many reflections. Life is a road, a difficult and winding road; walking this road, then, speaks to us of the meaning of life...
As we walk, we meet our brothers and sisters along the way, each one different, each bearing different gifts and charisms: so many faces, beautiful faces, where God has left his mark. We are called to question these faces and to let them question us...
We need to walk together because while our brother asks something of us—and has the right to ask—he also gives us his richness [...]
So you see, as we walk and meet our suffering brothers and sisters, we should say thank you to them, because they help us leave behind the wisdom of the world, which is selfishness, and they open us to those dimensions of love from which the joy of giving must be born in us—to be rich in being and poor in having.
But you have other fundamental reasons to be together in joy, especially at this eucharistic table. Your journey is hard; it is full of particular difficulties. And there is the strength of God.
[...] I ask your prayers for peace, for justice in the world. Your prayer is precious to me: I ask it of you with deep affection.
[...] I would add many other requests, because I know I speak to people who have a more direct line to the Lord than I do. Yet I assure you: I will not forget this day; I will remember your faces as long as I am able, and I will continue to pray for you—that the Lord give you every good thing, give you strength, give you joy, give you peace, and give you the solidarity of your brothers and sisters in faith and in our shared humanity.
by Bishop Sergio Goretti, Bishop of Assisi, 1986