The Pope's video-message for the beatification of 522 Spanish martyrs in Tarragona. Imitators of Christ who 'precedes us' in love
The Pope's video-message for the beatification of 522 Spanish martyrs in Tarragona.
Imitators of Christ
who 'precedes us' in love
Pope Francis joined spiritually with the many faithful who participated in the beatification of 522 Spanish martyrs, held on Sunday, 13 October in Tarragona, Spain. Addressing the faithful by video- message, the Pontiff said: “Christ precedes us [nos primerea] in love: the martyrs imitated him in that love to the very end”. He then invited the faithful to pray to the new blesseds: “Let us implore the intercession of the martyrs in order to be true Christians, i.e. Christians in deed who do not only talk about it; in order to avoid being mediocre Christians, Christians coated in Christianity but who lack any real substance”. The Spanish martyrs, he said, “were not coated [in Christianity], they were Christians to the very end”. The Pontiff concluded, saying: “Let us ask them to help us to remain firm in the faith, even amid difficulty and in this way let us be a leaven of hope and builders of fraternity and solidarity”.
The celebration in Tarragona was presided over by Angelo Cardinal Amato, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. Over thirty thousand faithful were in attendance. The Cardinal noted that it was “the largest beatification ever to be held on Spanish soil
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