| Vatican City (Fides Service) – “The Canons Regular of Prémontré, in their long and illustrious history, have contributed significantly to the growth and life of the Church, especially in Europe, and I join with you today in giving thanks to God for all the blessings which He has bestowed upon you over the many centuries of your existence” Pope John Paul II said to the Chapter General of the Norbertines received in audience on Monday 29 September.
“Consecrated life and its witness to the saving message of Jesus Christ has played a fundamental role in the evangelisation of Europe and in the shaping of its Christian identity - the Pope said, and he added - Just as Pope Gregory VII’s call to renewal was embraced by Saint Norbert, so the Church today looks to his spiritual sons to contribute with enthusiasm to the challenges posed by preaching the Gospel at the dawn of the Third Millennium.” The Holy Father remarked that the spread of the Order to all five continents, undertaking of new forms of apostolate call for “genuine commitment to imitate, in the spirit of your founder, the example of the early Church, by living and promoting the ideal of "cor unum et anima una”. Precisely this witness of communion, the Pope concluded, will be “a powerful sign and source of hope for a world confronted with exaggerated forms of individualism and social fragmentation.” SL (Fides Service 30/9/2003 EM lines 17 Words: 233)
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