Pope Francis praises the testimony and service of Cáritas

This morning Pope Francis received the members of Caritas from the Diocese of Toledo (Spain) at the Vatican, whom he referred to as “instruments of evangelization” through the universal language of charity.

At the beginning of his speech delivered from the Paul VI Hall, the Holy Father highlighted his commitment to the service of charity, which assumes the “challenge of being an engine of change within society by spreading the spirit of charity and justice.”

He also stressed that the members of this body of the Catholic Church awaken “in all those who have good will a more fraternal conscience.”

In this way, he stressed that they are not only “an example of civility and philanthropy, but they become instruments of evangelization, through the universal language of works of charity.”

For the Pontiff, charity is “a language understandable to all, written with the testimony and effort of all Caritas agents, committed to Jesus Christ and his Gospel.”

This lofty goal is achieved, according to the Holy Father, “through the craftsmanship of each of those responsible for socio-charitable action.”

To do this, he stressed that it is necessary “a human and spiritual formation that allows them to solidly confront the social problems, always changing, in the light of the Social Doctrine of the Church.”

He asked, in this sense, to never “forget the spirit of collaboration and synodality with all the pastoral realities that make up the whole of the diocesan Church.”

Pope Francis urged them to continue in this effort, “always learning from Christ, in the living book of prayer, from reading his Word, from living the sacraments, from listening attentively to the voice of their Pastors.” and of their presence in the Eucharist and in those they serve.”

“Be teachers of this wisdom that the world needs so much,” the Holy Father finally said.

In 2022, Cáritas dedicated a record figure of more than 450 million euros to the development of its projects within Spain and in international cooperation actions in third countries, especially in Ukraine, which represents an overall increase of 13.4% compared to to the previous year.