Rome (Italy). Mother Yvonne Reungoat, Superior General of the Institute of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, sent a letter to Pope Francis to show support and solidarity, especially in this moment of difficulty and tribulation, and transform them into prayer and penance, as the Holy Father himself asked the People of God.
“Most Holy Father,
We join the voice of people, groups, and institutions that in these days are gathered around you to express their solidarity and support.
Thank you, Your Holiness, for your testimony of serenity in fidelity to Christ and His Gospel; for the transparency of your words – the resonance of a life that is coherent and full of love – that He is offering not only to Catholics, but to the whole world.
We are grateful for giving your daily life as Pastor of the universal Church at the service of the people of God. A people that feels in communion with you, in deep harmony with your words, your gestures, your closeness to the poor.
You proclaim and witnesses with passion and a prophetic gaze to a Gospel without compromises, you make it credible and reliable with your daily choices.
You confirm us in our journey to be ever more an “outgoing Church”, starting from a convinced pastoral and missionary conversion. You show us new steps to give body and life to the central message of the Gospel, which in Jesus fully reveals the face of the Father’s mercy.
Thank you, Your Holiness, for the hardships that you face following the path of listening and dialog, of encounter that does not exclude or reject anyone, but instead opens doors and windows through which the freedom of the Spirit is manifested.
We share your attitude: “The truth is meek, the truth is silent”; it does not seek scandal or division. We make your choice of “silence and prayer” our own and express a renewed fidelity to the three loves of Don Bosco: the Eucharist, Mary Help of Christians, and the Pope.
Your magisterium, Holy Father, finds us in full harmony and inspires the path of the Institute in this time of epochal challenges and great opportunities, full of grace and open to hope: the hope that we read impressed in your words and your gestures and, above all, in your radiant face of joy.
Holiness, we are all with you – Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, educating communities, young people – as an Institute that lives and works in the Salesian Family and in the wider ecclesial community, and we ask you to bless us. You yourself, Holiness, are a blessing for our religious family and for today’s world. Thank you!
Rome, 7 September 2018
Sr. Yvonne Reungoat, FMA
Superior General of the FMA Institute”
