64 ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS TO THE PARTICIPANTS OF THE GENERAL CHAPTER OF THE CONGREGATION OF THE MARIAN FATHERS OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY Consistory Hall Friday, February 17, 2023 Dear brothers, good morning and welcome! I thank the Superior General for his kind words, and I greet you all. You are holding this General Chapter in the context of the 350th anniversary of the founding of your Institute, in Krakow in December 1670, by the work of Saint Stanislaus of Jesus and Mary. We know that it was not an easy beginning, due to the search for suitable companions and the long approval process, but Saint Stanislaus did not give up, trusting in the strength of the Holy Spirit. And precisely in order to cherish the legacy left to you by his tenacity, I would like to remember with you three major features of his, and your, spirituality, all marked by a lively ascetic and pastoral dynamism: love for the Virgin Mary, prayer of suffrage and attention to the poor. First of all, love for Mary. It is interesting to see what Saint Stanislaus teaches regarding Marian devotion: he says that the principal worship of Mary Immaculate is imitation of her evangelical life. This is important, because true devotion to the Mother of the Lord is nurtured and grows through listening to and meditating on the Word of God: Mary is the Woman of the Gospel (cf. Mt 12:46-50). Second aspect: prayer of suffrage, which characterizes the eschatological aspect of your congregation. Saint Stanislaus, however, inserts into this view of the ultimate horizon a special prayer for two large groups of the poor of his time: soldiers who fell in battle and those who died of the plague. Today it is needed for soldiers: they are falling everywhere! Just think that in the seventeenth century, some sixty per cent of Europe’s population was exterminated by epidemics and wars! It was then necessary to pray for the souls of the dead and for the comfort of families and communities, marked by grief and mourning for the loss of their loved ones (cf. Jn 11:35- 36). And the third feature I would like to remark upon is attention to the poor, in particular in support of parish priests.
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