On the occasion of the Spiritual Exercises of the Fraternity of Communion and Liberation taking place online from April 16-18, guided by the title “Is There Hope?” the Holy Father, Pope Francis, is happy to extend his cordial good wishes. It is his hope that the living memory of Christ’s sacrifice and His Incarnation in history will help us, in such an unclear and burdensome time, not to be overwhelmed by sadness and fear and to recognize that our restless hearts will not find peace until they rest in the Lord.
Pope Francis invites us to open our hearts to the unforeseen and to the surprising discovery that the Risen One, the origin of our hope, is with us every day until the end of time. He gladly imparts, through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, the “fixed goal of the eternal council,” the Apostolic Blessing you requested, to you and all those connected, to their families and the entire movement.

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State for His Holiness
Vatican, April 16, 2021


Your Holiness, 40,000 people connected by video from 94 countries participated in the Spiritual Exercises of Communion and Liberation. “Even worse that this crisis is the tragedy of squandering it.” Your exhortation a year ago pushed us to grow in awareness of what we have lived during this time marked by the pandemic. We have recognized how our restless hearts only find peace in the Lord.
“To those who suffer, God does not provide arguments which explain everything; rather, his response is that of an accompanying presence” (Lumen Fidei). Over these three days, so many people testified to this! In their letters, we have seen the embodiment of the hope that does not disappoint: the one founded on the certainty of Christ’s victory over death, sadness and fear. There is hope, because the risen Christ remains present here and now in “a companionship: the Church; with a head: Peter. A companionship in which His presence,” is made, “visible, tangible, experienceable” (Fr. Giussani). Immersed in this particular history generated by the Holy Spirit through the charism given to Fr. Giussani, we see growing in us–fragile and needy as we are–a boundless openness to all our human brothers and sisters and an impulse of positivity that invades the ordinary rhythm of daily life, according to the Father’s design.
Grateful for your Apostolic Blessing, we all continue to pray for you, Holy Father, entrusting you every day to Mary, Salus Populi Romani.

Julián Carrón