In his prayer intention for May 2023, Pope Francis asks us to pray for ecclesial movements and groups saying they are “a gift, they are a treasure in the Church.”

In the video, Pope Francis offers the following message:

“Ecclesial movements are a gift, they are a treasure in the Church! That’s what you are!

These movements renew the Church with their capacity for dialogue at the service of her evangelizing mission.

Each day, they rediscover in their charism new ways of showing the attractiveness and the newness of the Gospel.

How do they do this? Speaking different languages, they seem different, but it is their creativity that creates these differences. But always understanding themselves and making themselves understood.

And working at the service of the Bishops and parishes to avoid any temptation to close in on themselves, which can be the danger, right?

Always be on the move, responding to the impulse of the Holy Spirit to the challenges, to the changes in today’s world.

Remain in harmony with the Church, since harmony is a gift of the Holy Spirit.

Let us pray that ecclesial movements and groups may daily rediscover their mission, an evangelizing mission, and that they place their own charisms at the service of the world’s needs. Service…”

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Editor’s Note: Read the full list of the Pope Francis’ Monthly Intentions for 2023 here.