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Pope Francis sent Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, Prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches, on Thursday, Oct. 12, 2017, a letter to commemorate the Centenary of the Congregation and of the Pontifical Oriental Institute, of which the Cardinal is Chancellor.
Recalling its foundation 100 years ago, Francis reminded that even in the midst of the turbulent first world conflict, the Pontiff knew to reserve special attention to the Churches of the Orient.
After looking at the history of the institute, Francis discussed the missio the missio that this Institute will be called to undertake in the future.
In his letter, the Holy Father stressed that “the times in which we live and the challenges that war and hatred pose to the very roots of peaceful co-existence in the devastated lands of the East, place the Institute once again, just as it was a hundred years ago, at the centre of a providential crossroads.
“Maintaining intact the attention and application to traditional research, I invite you all to offer to those Churches and to the entire ecclesial community the capacity for listening to life and for theological reflection to help support their existence and their progress.
Giving thanks to God for the work carried out in these one hundred years, Francis expressed his hope that the Pontifical Oriental Institute may pursue its mission with renewed zeal.
He encouraged the institute to continue “studying and disseminating with love and intellectual honesty, with scientific rigor and a pastoral outlook, the traditions of the Oriental Churches in their liturgical, theological, artistic and canonistic variety, responding ever better to the expectations of today”s world to create a future of reconciliation and peace.
With these hopes, Pope Francis imparted on Cardinal Sandri and the entire community of this Institute, a special Apostolic Blessing.
Below is the Vatican Press Office-provided translation of the Pope’s letter:
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