When Pope Gregory IX wrote to St Clare: you are our one consolation amongst the innumerable, bitter and endless trials by which we are constantly being afflicted .... we put our arms around you in intimate love as our special daughters, or - and it is right so to address you, as you are the spouses of the Lord - our Ladies. Because we are confident you have been made one spirit with Christ, we ask you to remember us always in your prayers....
That our Father, Benedict XVI feels very close to us Franciscans, he has made very clear in his activities and in his writings on Francis,Clare, Anthony and Bonaventure.
In the fifteenth century at the very centre of the Council of Basle is the image of our mother, St Colette, praying for the healing and renewal of the Church. As she prayed for the fulfillment of hers, we pray for our own II Vatican Council.
Praying for the Successor of St Peter is part of our daily life. But it is more than that. With Pope John Paul, Pope Benedict is the father of the civilization of love; a whole new attitude to life and a culture of truth and joy of which we want very much to be part.
Benedict XVI is perhaps the greatest theologian the church has produced in the last two centuries if you want to know what Christianity is; he has defined it in his book Introducing Christianity which he wrote when he was a university professor! We have added short versions of his encyclicals Deus Caritas est and Spe salvi. We did these for our own use. They are all invitations to read the full texts!