ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS TO MEMBERS OF THE INTERNATIONAL CATHOLIC SOCIETY FOR GIRLS (ACISJF)

[…] I express my gratitude for your generous commitment to serving girls who live in precarious situations of uncertainty and hardship. Their increasing number and the many forms of poverty which face them challenge us and must inspire new creativity in order to offer them the material and spiritual support they need. Yes, it is true happiness to serve others, like Jesus. Through your ongoing service of hospitality — how much hospitality these young girls need, they need hospitality — as well as reflection on how to face the new challenges brought by today’s world, such as the phenomenon of migration, your work seeks to be at the service of life and of human dignity, bearing witness to “true faith in the incarnate Son of God is inseparable from self-giving, … from service” (Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii gaudium, n. 88). The girls whom you serve first of all need to receive attention and be listened to. That human and divine “apostolate of the ear” tires, it’s tiring, but it does so much good! They need this. In this way you can help them grow in trust, find points of reference and become mature adults and while their spirituality is nourished by Gospel values. May you be credible witnesses for them, so that they may experience the joy of knowing they are loved by God, their Father, and the call to happiness! […]