The month of October was the month of ecumenical dialogue. It started with the pope's sixteenth international trip; this time to the Caucasus. The visit was intended to foster peace in the region and strengthen the bonds between the Catholic Church and the Georgian Orthodox Church, one of the most hostile towards the Vatican.
The trip seemed to accomplish its second goal, as Pope Francis and Patriarch Ilia II gave constant signs of friendship. In fact, they finished their meeting with a typically Eastern gesture of hospitality: a toast with tea and coffee.
Upon his return to Rome, the pope visited the quake-struck towns of central Italy, in an incredibly emotional visit.
This man lost his wife and two children in the August earthquake, which killed 298 people.
The next ecumenical event the pope took part in was a meeting with the Archbishop of Canterbury. Together, they commemorated the 50th anniversary of dialogue between the Catholic and Anglican Church. The most emotional moment was when the Anglican bishop gave the pope his own pectoral cross as a gift.
On the 10th, Pope Francis announced the new cardinals to be created in November. He would name 17 of them, from 11 countries. 13 of them would be electors, and 7 would hail from countries that had no representation in the College of Cardinals. The date for the ceremony was set for November 19.
POPE FRANCIS
'They come from 11 countries, a fact which expresses the universality of the Church which announces the testimony of the Good News of God's Mercy to every corner of the Earth.'
The trip to Sweden to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation was preceded by this friendly encounter between Catholics and Lutherans who made the pilgrimage to Rome together.
POPE FRANCIS
'I really like the good Lutherans, the Lutherans who follow the true faith of Jesus Christ. However, I do not like lukewarm Catholics and I do not like lukewarm Lutherans.'
On October 16 he canonized seven new saints. Children, priests, nuns, and even teachers of six countries. Different stories; different historical backgrounds, but all with one common lifestyle.
POPE FRANCIS
'This is the kind of spiritual life the Church asks of us: not to win by war, but to win with peace!â?
The pope topped off the month with the trip to Sweden to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation and the 50 years of ecumenical dialogue between both churches. Pope Francis said that Christians of today are called to a new revolution; the revolution of tenderness.
POPE FRANCIS
'For us Christians, it is a priority to go out and meet the outcasts and the marginalized of our world, and to make felt the tender and merciful love of God, who rejects no one and accepts everyone. To us, the Christians of today, we are asked to be the stars in this revolution of tenderness.'
In Sweden, the pope sent a message to the world that dialogue is possible. If Catholics and Lutherans can pray together despite having been separated for 500 years, what is stopping the rest of the world from doing the same?
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