During a brief visit to Luxembourg Thursday, Pope Francis told local Catholics to set an example of welcome and inclusion, and to persevere amid the difficulties of evangelizing in a secularized society.
Speaking to Catholics gathered in Luxembourg’s Cathedral of Notre Dame Sept. 26, the pope spoke of following Marys example, urging them to “be missionaries, ready to bear witness to the joy of the Gospel, conforming our hearts to hers in order to put our lives at the service of our brothers and sisters.”
He then offered a brief reflection on the aspects of service, mission and joy in the life of the local church.
Francis, who is making a Sept. 26-29 trip to Luxembourg and Belgium, met with local Catholics after holding private conversations with Grand Duke Henri and Prime Minister Luc Freiden, and a public meeting with civil authorities.
Grand Duke Henri was also in attendance at the pope’s meeting with the Catholic community in Luxembourg, which though secular is a majority Christian nation, with some 68 percent of Christians identifying as Catholic.
In a brief greeting to the pope, Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, archbishop of Luxembourg, relator general of the pope’s Synod of Bishops on Synodality and a close papal ally, welcomed Francis “with immense joy.”
“The Church of Luxembourg is living in a strongly secularized society, with its sufferings and difficulties, but also with its paths of hope,” he said, saying the Church wants to “undertake a path of renewal.
Hollerich said the Church aims to do this “following the signs that God has placed in our path, together with the young, the less young, and the committed elderly, volunteers and non-volunteers, priests and laity, Luxembourgers and non-Luxembourgers.”
Pope Francis also heard three testimonies, including from a young man named Diogo Gomes Costa who spoke of the joy he experienced at World Youth Day in Lisbon last summer, and the motivation of the pope’s repeated call on that occasion to welcome, “everyone, everyone, everyone!”
“In the Church there is space for all. So we are all living stones and contribute with courage to building the Church of tomorrow,” he said, and thanked the pope for his 2015 environmental encyclical, Laudato Si.
Christine Bughardt, vice president of Diocesan Pastoral Council, also spoke, sharing her experience of the synodal process and how it is lived through collaboration in the pastoral council. She also spoke of the importance of prioritizing the elderly, sick, refugees, poor and prisoners, and of preventing abuse.
Sister Maria Perpetua Coelho Dos Santos spoke about the cultural diversity of Luxembourg and the importance of working with migrants and refugees, saying the synodal Church must be a place of welcome for everyone.
In his speech, Pope Francis touched on the importance of service, saying this is especially manifest in what he said was the urgent need of “welcoming others.”
“I mention this here among you precisely because your country has a centuries-old tradition in this regard,” he said, saying there is room in the Church for everyone, and “the spirit of the Gospel is a spirit of welcoming, of openness to everyone; it does not admit any kind of exclusion.”
He urged Luxembourg Catholics to be faithful to their history of welcome and “to continue to make your country a friendly home for those who knock at your door seeking help and hospitality.”
Pope Francis also reflected on the value of charity, saying it is not only a requirement of justice, but it also at the heart of Europe’s Christian roots. In this regard, Europe must be marked not by “goods and commodities,” he said, quoting Pope John Paul II’s 1985 address to young people in Luxembourg, but by values and hearts.
“I too would like to emphasize that we are in need of a Europe and a world in which the Gospel will be shared through the words you proclaim together with your loving actions,” he said.
Another important aspect of the Church in Luxembourg ought to be a sense of mission, Francis said, recalling Hollerich’s reference to living in a secularized society.
“The Church, within a secularized society needs to evolve, mature and grow,” he said, saying, “We cannot close ourselves off in sadness, resignation or resentment. On the contrary, we must accept the challenge while remaining faithful to the Church’s perennial values.”
He spoke of the importance of “missionary proclamation,” the success of which he said happens with concrete examples of “sharing responsibilities and ministries, walking together as a missionary community and making synodality a lasting way to relate among its members.”
Francis lauded the local Church’s commitment to caring for the environment and applauded a musical performance of Laudato Si’ given by young people at the event, calling the commitment to caring for creation a “prophetic sign.”
Each person is responsible for creation, he said, saying, “we must care for it, rather than oppress it. At the same time, it also makes us consider that if we live out this mission together, it will become a magnificent piece of music we can sing in order to proclaim the beauty of the Gospel to all.”
As missionaries, he urged local Catholics to remember that what should drive them “is not the need to meet quotas or to proselytize, but rather our desire to make known to as many brothers and sisters as possible the joy of encountering Christ.”
“Accepting the challenge of this proclamation allows us to grow as a community, thus helping us to overcome the fear of embarking on new paths and to welcome gratefully each other’s contribution,” he said.
The pope also reflected on joy, saying the faith itself “is full of joy,” because believers have the certainty “that we are children of a God who is our friend, who wants us to be happy and united, who rejoices above all in our salvation.”
“Dear sisters, dear brothers, the mission the Lord entrusts to us is beautiful. Let us console and serve, following Mary’s example and with her help. Thank you for the work you do, and thank you for helping the needy with such generosity,” he said, and assured of his prayers, asking for theirs in return.
