VATICAN - The Pope's greeting to the people of Rome: “Rome is beautiful above all for the generosity and sanctity of so many of its sons and daughters, who have left eloquent signs of their passion for the beauty of God, the beauty of love that never fades or grows old.”

Rome (Agenzia Fides) – On Monday, March 9, at the close of his visit to Rome's Town Hall, the Holy Father went out on the balcony of the Senate's Palace to greet the citizens who were gathered in the Plaza of the Town Hall. There were representatives from various Roman volunteer services, immigrants, and guests of the City Centers. “Having lived in Rome for so many years, I feel I have become a little Roman myself; yet it is as your bishop that I feel most Roman. With even more lively participation, therefore, through you I direct my thought towards all of 'our' fellow citizens, which in a certain manner you represent today: the families, communities and parishes, children, youth and elderly, the sick and disabled, volunteers and social workers, immigrants and pilgrims.”
The Holy Father then mentioned the fact that “Rome is beautiful for its ancient remains, for its cultural institutions, for the monuments that tell its history, for the churches and their many artistic masterpieces. But Rome is beautiful above all for the generosity and sanctity of so many of its sons and daughters, who have left eloquent signs of their passion for the beauty of God, the beauty of love that never fades or grows old.” Benedict XVI then mentioned the Apostles Peter and Paul, the long list of martyrs of early Christianity, and the “many men and women - Roman by birth or adoption - who over the centuries gave their lives in the service of young people, of the sick, the poor and all those in need.” Among them he mentioned Saint Lawrence, Saint Francis of Rome, Saint Philip Neri, Saint Gaspare del Bufalo, Saint Giovanni Battista De Rossi, Saint Vincent Pallotti, Blessed Anna Maria Taigi, and the married couple, Blesseds Luigi and Maria Beltrame Quattrocchi. “Their example shows that, when people encounter Christ, they do not close in on themselves but open up to the needs of others and, in all areas of society, place the common good before their own interests.”
“We also have need of such men and women in our own time", he added, "because no small number of families, no small number of young people and adults, are living in precarious, even dramatic, situations; situations that can only be overcome by working together, as is clear of from the history of Rome, which has seen much more difficult moments than these.” At the close of his address, before imparting the blessing through the intercession of Saints Peter and Paul, Saint Francis of Rome (Co-Patroness of Rome), and Maria Salus populi romani (Mary, health of the people of Rome), the Holy Father asked those present to assure everyone of his “understanding, spiritual closeness, and prayer,” especially to those who are sick, suffering, or in difficulty. “May God bless and protect Rome and all its inhabitants always!” (SL) (Agenzia Fides 10/3/2009)