When receiving the participants in the XXV Columbian Day 2024, which takes place in the Italian city of Piacenza on June 22 and 23, Pope Francis warned of the danger that ecclesial and civil communities in Europe could lose their identity and dissolve. “in a homologous globalization.”
The Columbian Journey addresses the legacy of the Irish missionary Saint Columban (543-615), especially his evangelizing work in Europe.
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In his message, the Holy Father highlighted that this day, which has been taking place for 25 years, has fostered the creation of “a network of spiritual and cultural friendship in that part of Europe where he and his companions left the mark of their beneficial presence. ”.
“It is not in fact a mere historical commemoration, much less a folkloric one: it is rather a commitment to promote knowledge of Saint Columban and his legacy as a wealth for today, both in the ecclesial and civil spheres,” said the Pontiff.
Born in Navan (Ireland), Saint Columban was considered by Pope Benedict XVI as “the most famous Irishman of the early Middle Ages.” At approximately 50 years old, the saint left Ireland to, together with 12 companions, go on a pilgrimage and mission in Europe, in regions that after a first Christian evangelization returned to paganism.
In his message today, Pope Francis recalled that Saint Columban and his fellow Irish monks “of that time became pilgrims and missionaries on the continent to re-evangelize vast territories where the first Christian flourishing was at risk of being lost: the work of recovery and the cultivation they carried out on the land, they also did so in the field of spirit, mentality and customs.”
“And thus, the testimony of the Columbian monks, like that of the Benedictines elsewhere, contributed decisively to preserving and renewing European civilization,” he said.
For the Holy Father, “today we also need this evangelical ‘sap’, so that the ecclesial and civil communities of the continent do not lose their identity, do not dissolve in a homologous globalization, at the mercy of the dominant powers, but can express their faith. and its culture with creative fidelity to its traditions, contributing to the construction of the Europe of the people, united in the coexistence of differences and open to encounter and dialogue with other civilizations of the world.
David Ramos
Graduated in Communication Sciences from the Universidad Privada del Norte in Trujillo, Peru. With more than 12 years of experience in Catholic journalism working at ACI Prensa, I have been based in Mexico since 2018. I have covered Pope Francis’ trips to Ecuador, Paraguay, Mexico, Colombia, Chile, Peru and Panama.