Your Eminences, Your Excellencies,
Dear friends in Christ,

I am pleased to welcome all of you, the Members, Trustees and Stewards of Saint Peter of The Papal Foundation, as you return to the Vatican for your annual pilgrimage. It is a great joy for me to be with you again, and to express my profound appreciation for your generosity to me and to the Church throughout the world. In the name of all those who are assisted through your charitable works, I say thank you.

This year your pilgrimage takes place within the Jubilee of Mercy, during which we contemplate the mystery of mercy, that wellspring of joy, serenity and peace, upon which our salvation depends (cf. Misericordiae Vultus, 2). We are called by Christ to share this mercy with those who are spiritually and materially in need through the spiritual and corporal works of mercy, with that spirit of generosity and tenderness that reflects God’s immeasurable goodness.

As Members, Trustees, and Stewards of The Papal Foundation, the works of mercy are at the heart of your mission. Through your generous support of diocesan, parish and community projects, as well as through providing scholarships, you assist many people to further respond to the local needs of their communities and to undertake ever more fruitfully their own works of mercy. In this way, your charity reverberates throughout the world, offering new initiatives that help to extend the merciful embrace of the Father.

I pray that these days of pilgrimage have been for you a new impetus to holiness, and that you have experienced the gift of God’s mercy. Saint Paul reminds us to never grow tired of doing good (cf. Gal 6:9; 2 Thess 3:13). May the Father sustain you in your good works, but above all may he lead you to an ever deeper faith and experience of his unending love. Know that my prayers and blessing go with you, and, please, do not forget to pray for me.