Dear brothers and sisters,
It is a joy for me to be with you in the Cathedral of Rome: the Pope is the Bishop of Rome, and I am a Christian with you and a bishop for you. I thank the Cardinal Vicar for the words with which he opened this meeting, which I experience as a great embrace of the Bishop with his people.
I greet the members of the Episcopal Council, the parish priests, all the deacons, the religious sisters and brothers and all of you who represent your parishes here. I thank you for the joy of your discipleship, for your pastoral work, for the burdens you carry and those you lift from the shoulders of the many people who knock at the door of your communities.
Jesus' words to the Samaritan woman, which we have just heard in the Gospel, in this difficult historical period, are now addressed to us, the Church of Rome: "If you only knew the gift of God" (Jn 4:10). To this tired woman, who comes to the well at the hottest hour of the day, Jesus reveals that there is living water that quenches thirst for ever, a gushing spring that never runs dry: it is the very life of God given to humanity. This gift is the Holy Spirit, who quenches our burns and irrigates our aridity, casting a light on our path. Saint Luke, in the Acts of the Apostles, also uses the word "gift" to designate the Holy Spirit, the creative Spirit capable of renewing all things.
Through the synodal process, the Spirit has raised the hope of an ecclesial renewal, capable of revitalising communities so that they grow in the style of the Gospel, in closeness to God and in a presence of service and witness in the world.
After a long period of listening and debate, the fruit of the synodal process was above all an encouragement to enhance the value of ministries and charisms, drawing on the baptismal vocation, placing at the centre the relationship with Christ and welcoming our brothers and sisters, starting with the poorest, sharing their joys and sorrows, their hopes and difficulties. In this way, the sacramental character of the Church is highlighted, and as a sign of God's love for humanity, the Church is called to be a privileged channel so that the living water of the Spirit can reach everyone. This requires the holy people of God to be exemplary. As we know, sacramentality and exemplarity are two key concepts in the ecclesiology of the Second Vatican Council and in the hermeneutics of Pope Francis. Remember how much he took to heart the patristic theme of the mysterium lunae, that is, the Church seen in the reflection of the light of Christ, in her relationship with Him, the sun of justice and the light of the nations.