Vatican City, Feb 23, 2018 / 11:40 am
On Friday Pope Francis returned from his week-long Lenten spiritual exercises in Ariccia, where he and members of the Roman Curia have been on their annual retreat since Sunday afternoon.
Before boarding the bus that would take him back to Vatican City, Francis thanked the priest who preached the exercises for his reflections and for encouraging members of the Curia to be open to the Holy Spirit and not stuck in bureaucratic structures.
"Thank you, Father, for having spoken of the Church, for having made us, this small flock, feel the Church," the Pope said Feb. 23.
He thanked Fr. José Tolentino de Mendonça for reminding them that "the Church is not a cage for the Holy Spirit," and also voiced thanks for receiving a warning "not to shrink it with our bureaucratic worldliness!"