Pope Francis received on the morning of Friday (14), after Mass at Casa Santa Marta, the Episcopal conference of the Czech Republic and then the founder of Shalom Catholic Community, Moyses Louro de Azevedo Filho.
During the private hearing, which lasted about 30 minutes, Azevedo renewed the offer of the life and mission of Shalom Community for the evangelization of all humanity, especially the young.
According to the founder, in the occasion he recalled his meeting with John Paul II, on July 9, 1980 , when he handed the pontiff a letter in which he expressed his desire to spend his life and youth in the service of the Church. Two years later, he founded the Shalom Catholic Community.
Moyses gave Pope Francis a small album about the history of the Community. The central idea is illustrated by the face of a young man that represents the face of humanity waiting to know God’s love.
Some of the material shows how the Community prays for the pontiff in his apostolic actions. Thus, the idea of enlarging the space of music to social networks emerged. One of the album art is a QR code that leads to the Facebook fanpage I pray for the Pope, where everyone can express their closeness to the Pope in everyday actions: prayer, work, leisure, living with family, friends, prayer groups, among other situations.
After the audience, the Pope went to St. Peter’s Square, where he met with about 20 thousand couples, in celebration of Valentine’s Day.
(Emanuele Sales/ Maria Emília Marega)