Thank you. Thank you.
We killed him.
That's the way you.
He rest.
Papa God. Heat. Heat.
Father.
Thank you. Thank you.
I pray for you. I pray for you every day. Thank you.
Thank you.
Bye-bye.
Down.
Yahoo! Wow! Let's go.
Here we are.
Chicago. Chicago.
Yeah, keep going.
Good. Good to meet you.
Bless you.
Making his rounds on the boat mobile through the square. And the Holy Father has paused for a moment in front of a sign which appears to be from a parish in Chicago, and he's paused for a moment to greet them and mention that to greet them at length. My name is Devin Watkins and I'll be providing the English language commentary and translation for this papal audience. From wherever you are joining us, I'd like to welcome you to this live broadcast.
Some of you may be joining us through our Vatican News app or our Vatican News web portal, English YouTube channel or our Facebook live feed. We also welcome all of you who are joining us through our various partner broadcast stations including Radio Maria UK, EWTN TV, Catholic Television of San Antonio, Texas, Salt and Light TV, Catholic Faith Network in America, Shakina Channel TV, Shalom World TV, Luminous Radio in India, and Radio Maria Papua New Guinea.
A warm welcome also to all of our friends from the Deaf Catholic Youth Initiative for the Americas, DCYIA. Please visit our Vatican News YouTube channel to find translation of this event and many others in American Sign Language or ASL.
Hopefully he is still pausing to bless the many babies whose parents have brought them out for this weekly general audience. We recall that this weekend and Friday in two days, hopefully, he will be making an apostolic journey to France. A four-day apostolic journey. He will be traveling on September 25th to the 28th and visiting Paris, Lourdes, and Metz.
On Friday, the Holy Father will depart from Rome from Rome's Fiumicino airport in the morning and fly to Paris where he will meet with President Emmanuel Macron and other civil and public authorities. He will also hold and visit the headquarters of UNESCO, then celebrate vespers at Notre Dame Cathedral, the Basilica of Notre Dame, and then hold an evening prayer vigil with young people at the Stade de France.
Then on Saturday, the Holy Father will travel from, he will start at Paris, visiting the Mie Bachita, a center supporting migrants, and hold a meeting at the Catholic Institute of Paris. In the afternoon, early afternoon, he will celebrate mass outdoors in the Champ de Mars area, and then in the afternoon fly to Lourdes and have a prayer vigil at the grotto of Lourdes.
Then on Sunday the 27th of September in Lourdes he will celebrate mass in the morning at the sanctuary meadow. And then in the evening, pray the rosary and lead a torch lit procession. On Monday, the last day, he will fly to Metz and celebrate mass at the Saint-Étienne Cathedral before returning to Rome that evening.
There will be several aspects that will be of particular significance, including his visit to Notre Dame. His prayer there will be the first papal visit since the cathedral's restoration following the 2019 fire. He will also deliver an address at the UNESCO headquarters where he may speak about artificial intelligence and human dignity, an important focus of his papacy.
In Lourdes, he will visit Our Lady of Lourdes and the miraculous site where Our Lady of Lourdes appeared to Bernadette, Saint Bernadette. And the Holy Father has made his way here in St. Peter's Square up and through the stage set up in front of the basilica, and we will begin. He's pausing for a moment and greeting his secretaries.
And now he's making his way up. And we see, if you're following on television, we can see the many newlyweds who have been married over the past year who have come out to attend this general audience. And now we prepare ourselves to listen to the Holy Father's words as he begins this audience in the name of the sign of the cross and the liturgical greeting.
Now we will hear the scripture reading read first in Italian, then French, and then English, and then followed by other languages.
A reading from the book of Genesis. And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden in the east. And there he put the man whom he had formed. Out of the ground the Lord God made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it. The word of the Lord.
Now we will hear the scripture reading from the book of Genesis in German.
Now in Spanish, Portuguese and Chinese.
And now the scripture reading will be read in Arabic and Polish.
And after hearing the scripture reading from the book of Genesis, Pope Leo will now deliver his catechesis.
Brothers and sisters, good morning and welcome.
As we continue our journey through the pastoral constitution Gaudium et Spes of the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, we come to the third chapter of the first part which bears the intriguing title Man's Activity Throughout the World. The fundamental question is this: What is the value of human activity in the world and therefore of technical, social and scientific progress? We may recall that less than four years after the close of the council, on the night of July 20th to 21st, 1969, man set foot on the moon for the first time.
Created in the image and likeness of God, the human being is the agent of progress. With freedom and intelligence, he increases his knowledge, thereby advancing society as a whole. We can easily see this by considering the improvements in living conditions over successive generations. Indeed, the document states, 'Many benefits, many benefits once looked for, especially from heavenly powers, man has now enterprisingly procured for himself.'
For this reason, some thinkers have portrayed scientific and technical progress as something that weakens man's relationship with God to the point of making it seem superfluous, as antagonistic to the Christian faith. And this interpretation has brought about a change in the way contemporary man views the world compared with previous ages.
Such a prejudice is particularly prevalent in that part of Western culture which has lost its reference to Christian revelation and post-Christian humanist thought. Human beings and God are erroneously presented as rivals. In order to assert his knowledge, his freedom and his progress, man is thought to have to emancipate himself from God.
Ultimately, however, by denying the relationship with God, one also loses the possibility of affirming the transcendent value of the human person. This is the tragedy of atheistic humanism, well described by a leading theologian of the Second Vatican Council, Henri de Lubac.
The council wishes to provide a clear answer. Christians, states Gaudium et Spes, can justly consider that by their labor they are unfolding the Creator's work, consulting the advantages of their brother men, and are contributing by their personal industry to the realization in history of the divine plan.
Indeed, the constitution continues, far from thinking that works produced by man's own talent and energy are in opposition to God's power and that the rational creature exists as a kind of rival to the Creator, Christians are convinced that the triumphs of the human race are a sign of God's grace and the flowering of his own mysterious design.
In essence, God has placed in the hands of men and women a creation that is still in statu, that is on a journey, in the process of growth, so that they may bring it to fulfillment through their wise activity.
Here there is an important reference to the mystery of the incarnation. Humanity and with it work, progress and the autonomy of created realities is not absorbed or nullified by the encounter with God, but rather taken up in its entirety, continuing to be in Christ free and active. Indeed, it is in him that it finds full truth and freedom.
Furthermore, in the Eucharistic celebration, the fruit of human labor represented by bread and wine is placed on the altar every day to be transformed into the body and blood of Christ. From this perspective, an important truth emerges: to encounter God, the human being must not abandon his earthly occupations, but can live his vocation fully, carrying out his daily work well and sanctifying it.
Christians, like everyone else, are involved in building the city of man, striving towards the end of all things and the encounter with God, and reminding those with whom they share the adventure of progress, science, and life, of this ultimate purpose. Earthly progress must certainly be clearly distinguished from the development of the kingdom of Christ.
However, the council affirms that to the extent that the former can contribute to the better ordering of human society, it is a vital concern to the kingdom of God. All the good fruits of our nature and enterprise, we will find them again freed of stain, burnished and transfigured.
Finally, let us recall that in order to become authentic human progress, that is, progress for the whole person and for all people, technical and scientific progress must be inspired and guided by charity. Only in this way can it always be placed in the service of human dignity and promote the living conditions of all, especially the most disadvantaged.
Dear brothers and sisters, the Second Vatican Council invites us to share the bread of knowledge and know-how so that every person and every people may develop their potential, and together with God's help we may build a better future.
And now after hearing the Holy Father's catechesis in Italian, we'll hear a summary of the Holy Father's catechesis in French.
I greet the French-speaking pilgrims, especially the group of pilgrims from France, the Sisters of Saint Paul d'Art and the Reso group from Haiti. The Second Vatican Council invites us to share the bread of knowledge and practical skills. Generously develop your potential so that together with God's help, we may build a better future. God bless you.
And now we'll hear the summary and greetings in English.
Most Holy Father, the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors wish to express to you their sentiments of deep respect and esteem and to assure you of their prayers for your ministry as the successor of Peter. At the end of the audience, we will sing together the Our Father in Latin. His Holiness will then impart his apostolic blessing which he extends in a particular way to the members of your families at home. He also intends to bless any religious articles you may have brought for this purpose. And in a special way, his blessing goes to your children, the elderly, and those who are sick.
Dear brothers and sisters, as we continue our series of catecheses on the Second Vatican Council, today we consider the meaning and value of human activity as presented by the pastoral constitution Gaudium et Spes. Revolutionary advances in science and technology in the past century have led some to assume that belief in God is now obsolete and that true human autonomy can be affirmed only by emancipation from God.
The council fathers emphasized, on the contrary, that the achievements of the human race are a sign of God's greatness and the fulfillment of his mysterious design. Indeed, far from inhibiting believers from being engaged in human activity, the gospel message compels us to contribute to authentic human flourishing through our involvement in society.
Let us carry out our daily activities with true charity, offering our work to the Lord, both as a means for personal sanctification and as an expression of our desire ever more fully to bring about God's kingdom, especially through pursuing the common good, caring for the needy, and defending human dignity.
I greet all the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors taking part in today's audience, particularly the groups from England, Ireland, Denmark, Norway, Malta, Tanzania, Australia, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, and the United States of America.
Tomorrow in St. Louis, Missouri, Venerable Fulton Sheen will be beatified. May the example and intercession of this holy bishop, known for his evangelizing work through the media, inspire many others likewise to find new ways of spreading the gospel message with joyful enthusiasm. Upon all of you and your families, I invoke the peace and joy of our Lord Jesus Christ. God bless you.
And now we'll hear the greetings to the Holy Father and the summary read in German.
I cordially greet the German-speaking pilgrims, especially the many school groups on study trips. May this experience of the eternal city encourage you to deepen your knowledge of the treasures of our Christian culture and history, which belong not only to the past but can also inspire the future. God bless you.
I cordially greet the Spanish-speaking pilgrims. In the Eucharist, we offer the fruits of the earth and of human labor so that they may become the body and blood of Christ. Let us also unite our lives and our work to the Eucharistic sacrifice so that the Lord may transform them into a living offering, holy and pleasing to him. May God bless you. Thank you very much.
And now we'll hear the greetings and summary in Chinese.
