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As is customary, Pope Francis dedicated the general audience of September 22 to recap his trip to Budapest and Slovakia, from which he returned exactly a week ago.
He said:
In the course of his recap, the Holy Father spoke of certain personalities who had inspired him, both living people, and holy men and women of the past. We share those accounts:
When he greeted me, one of the Slovak bishops, already elderly, told me, “I worked as a conductor on the tram, to hide from the communists.” He is good, that bishop: during the dictatorship, the persecution, he was a tram conductor, then he carried out his “profession” as a bishop clandestinely, and no-one knew. This is what it is like, under persecution. There is no prayer without memory. Prayer, the memory of one’s life, of the life of one’s people, their history: committing to memory and recalling. This is good for us, and helps us pray.
Witnesses of faith such as Cardinal Mindszenty and Cardinal Korec, and the Blessed Bishop Pavel Peter Gojdič. Roots that reach as far back as the ninth century, back to the evangelizing work of the saints brothers Cyril and Methodius, who accompanied this journey with their constant presence.
~ Cardinal Mindszenty was mentioned by the Holy Father at the closing Mass of the International Eucharistic Congress. He said:
~ Cardinal Korec was mentioned by Pope Francis during his address to Slovakian bishops, priests and religious:
~ Blessed Bishop Pavel Peter Gojdič worked in opposition to the errant priest who was the president of the Slovak Republic while it was a puppet state of Nazi Germany. He worked against the deportation of Slovak Jews, and when the Communists took over, was imprisoned. He has been recognized as Righteous Among the Nations.
Pope Francis also recognized the testimony of a Slovak girl known as another Maria Goretti. He said that violence against women is "an open wound."
Finally, the Pope praised the nuns who care for the homeless and needy at the Bethlehem Center.
