Dear Brothers and Sisters, Good morning.

This morning, we opened the Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops with the Eucharistic celebration in Saint Peter’s Basilica. Together with me, the Synodal Fathers, who have come from all over the world, will live two intense weeks of listening and discussion, made fruitful by prayer, on the topic “The Pastoral Challenges on the Family in the Context of Evangelization.”

Today, the Word of God presents the image of the vine as symbol of the people that the Lord has chosen. Like a vine, the people require so much care; they require a patient and faithful love. In this way, God works with us, and in the same way, we pastors are called to do the same. Taking care of the family is also a way of working in the Lord’s vineyard, that it will bear fruits of the Kingdom of God (cf. Matthew 21:33-43).

However, for the family to be able to walk well, with trust and hope, it must be nourished by the Word of God. Therefore, it is a happy coincidence that in fact today our Pauline brothers wished to make a great distribution of the Bible, here in the square, and in many other places. Let's thank our Pauline brothers! They do so on the occasion of the centenary of their foundation by Blessed Giacomo Alberione, great apostle of communication. So today, while the Synod on the Family opens, we can say with the help of the Paulines: a Bible in every family! A Bible in every family! [...] We have one or two but they mustn't be hidden, not put on a shelf, but to have one and take it in our hand, to read it often, every day, be it individually or together, husband and wife, parents and children, perhaps in the evening, especially on Sunday. Thus, the family grows, walks, with the light and strength of the Word of God! [...]

I invite all to support the works of the Synod with prayer, invoking the maternal intercession of the Virgin Mary. At this moment, we associate ourselves spiritually with all those at the Shrine of Pompey, elevating the traditional “Supplication” to Our Lady of the Rosary. May she obtain peace for families and for the whole world!

After the Angelus:

Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Yesterday, Sister Mary Teresa Demjanovich, of the Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth, was proclaimed Blessed in the United States. We thank God for this faithful disciple of Christ, who led an intense spiritual life.

Observed today in Italy is the Day of the Pulling Down of Architectural Barriers. I encourage all those who do their utmost to guarantee equal opportunities of life for all, regardless of the physical condition of each individual. I hope that institutions and individual citizens will be ever more attentive to this important social objective.

And now I greet you all cordially, Roman faithful and pilgrims from Italy and from various countries. In particular, I greet the students who have come from Australia and those of Saint Bonaventure’s Gymnasium, Dilligen, Germany, the young people from Jordan, the Saint John of Matha Association and the faithful of Saint Paul’s parish in Bergamo.

I greet the pilgrims who have come on bicycle from Milan in memory of Saint Gianna Beretta Molla, saintly mother of a family, witness of the Gospel of life, and I encourage them to continue their initiatives of solidarity in favour of the most vulnerable people. 

Please, don't forget to pray for the synod [...]

I wish you all a happy Sunday and good lunch. And please, pray for me. Good-bye!
[Original Text: Italian]

[Working Translation by ZENIT]