CWN - Following his June 19 Angelus address, Pope Francis recalled that the day was Pentecost Sunday on the Julian calendar and prayed for the pan-Orthodox council as it began in Crete.
“Let us unite ourselves in prayer with our Orthodox brothers, invoking the Holy Spirit, that he assists with his gifts the patriarchs, archbishops and bishops who are gathered in Council,” the Pope said, as he asked those present in St. Peter’s Square to pray a Hail Mary for all Orthodox Christians.
The Pope also recalled that June 20 is the UN’s World Refugee Day.
Refugees “are people just like us, but war has taken from them their houses, work, relatives and friends,” he said.
“Their stories and their faces call us to renew our efforts to build peace and justice,” he continued. “We want to be with them, encounter them, receive them, so as to become again artisans of peace, according to the will of God.”
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