Pope Francis gave the Paul VI Prize to President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella at the Apostolic Palace's Clementine Hall. After thanking the Institute that made the assignment decision, the Head of State announced his intention to give the prize money to the community that bears John XXIII's name: "I would like to ask the Paul VI Institute to allocate the sum linked to the Prize to the community named after 'John XXIII', born in Romagna. Some of its shelters have been badly damaged by recent floods." "My first thought was one of surprise, naturally immediately followed by a feeling of deep gratitude," Mattarella said. "I felt the deepest gratitude in learning of the Holy Father's willingness to give it to me personally." There was no shortage of personal tributes to the pontiff who died in 1978, on whom he stated that "with his teachings, St. Paul VI placed and transmitted in a harmonious, clear, and complete vision, faith, human dignity, freedom, and peace - he said - He was the pope of my passage from youth to mature age. He was also my bishop, since I was active in the youth of Catholic Action of the diocese of Rome during the council years." Pope Francis, for his part, expressed his pleasure in giving the award to the President of the Republic, thanking the Paul VI Institute for its commitment in preserving the pontiff's memory. "I am delighted, Mr. President, to be an instrument of gratitude on behalf of those who, young and old, see in you a teacher, a simple teacher, and above all, a consistent and polite witness of service and responsibility," Pope Francis said to Mattarella. "Today, the conferral of the Paul VI Prize to President Mattarella is a beautiful opportunity to celebrate the value and dignity of service." "The Italian people do not forget the renunciation of well-deserved rest made in the name of the service requested by the State," he went on to say. In his speech on responsibility, the pontiff also mentioned the president's brother, Piersanti Mattarella, as well as the victims of the mafia, including the recent commemoration of the Capaci tragedy.
|