Meeting in Rome for the General Congregations prior to the upcoming Conclave, the College of Cardinals addressed a message to the People of God inviting them to live this ecclesial moment as a time of grace and spiritual discernment, in an attitude of listening to the will of God.
The Cardinals, "conscious of the responsibility to which they are called, feel the need to be sustained by the prayers of all the faithful. This is the true strength which in the Church promotes the unity of all the members of the one Body of Christ (cf. 1 Cor 12:12)".
The prelates are aware of the challenge before them and humbly ask for the prayers of the faithful: "the enormity of the task before us and the urgency of the present time, it is necessary above all to make ourselves humble instruments of the infinite wisdom and providence of our heavenly Father, in docility to the action of the Holy Spirit.
The text of the communiqué asks the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary to "accompany these prayers with her maternal intercession".
Prayer initiatives for the conclave
Around the upcoming conclave, various Catholic communities have launched digital initiatives to invite the faithful around the world to unite in prayer for the cardinal electors and for the election of the future pope. The virtual community Monastery Wi-Fi has reactivated its well-known platform "Adopt a Cardinal".which allows anyone to receive, at random, the name of a cardinal for whom they commit to pray during the process.
For its part, the Catholic channel EWTN has posted on its social networks a image gallery of the 135 cardinal electors, with the aim of bringing their faces and careers closer to the faithful.
Hakuna has launched a creative campaign entitled "Your date, his fire"The Cardinal's name is assigned to each participant according to his or her birthday, in a gesture of personalized spiritual closeness.
In addition to these proposals Opus Dei Tipswho, through his Instagram account, has promoted his own way of joining this global prayer current. All these actions show how, in times of ecclesial discernment, the Church relies on the prayer of its faithful, also through digital media.
