"The Church has cared for the needy in every pandemic.""God has been bringing out good in each person during the pandemic."After the pandemic, what's next for the Church?Translation of the article into Italian
After welcoming for three days thousands of young people from all over the world who, encouraged by today's Magisterium, gathered to reflect on the economy of the futureCalled to be more just and in solidarity, Assisi will once again be the protagonist in the coming days of an initiative desired by the Italian Episcopal Conference: to remember in prayer the thousands of deaths that Italy has suffered in the last two years due to Covid-19.
The proposal is entitled "Pray for your loved one" and will use technology to bring to the feet of St. Francis the memory of the families of those who have been victims of the pandemic. Commissioned by the president of the Italian Episcopal Conference, Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, the virtual mobilization - through a special web page where everyone can indicate the names of the relatives - wants to resume that thread that was interrupted in the hard moments of the encirclement, when many people "said goodbye to us, because of Covid, in some anonymous way".
Situations that added pain to pain, precisely because of a cold and sometimes inhuman detachment, without an embrace or a caress. Even Pope Francis referred several times to what was judged as a tragedy within a tragedy, which left a trail of suffering, regret and sometimes a feeling of guilt.
Prayers in Assisi
"I have entrusted the friars of the Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi with the task of collecting the names of the deceased and contacting those who wish to remember a loved one for this special commemoration," Cardinal Zuppi said. It will be a concrete way of "reaching out in faith and in the closeness of friendship to all those who still suffer today for not being able to say a last goodbye to their relatives and loved ones."
Accessing the web page It will be possible to "light" a virtual candle indicating the name of your relative; the Friars of Assisi will place all the names collected for this occasion on the Tomb of St. Francis, to entrust these persons to him and to the Lord.
They will do so on October 4, the Saint's feast day, when the President of the Italian Republic, Sergio Mattarella, will light a Votive Lamp offered by Italy - of which Saint Francis is Patron together with Saint Catherine of Siena - to thank the health workers, police forces and volunteers who worked during the pandemic and to remember all those who died.
