Vatican City, Apr 19, 2018 / 08:42 am
Speaking to members of Benedictine communities in Rome Thursday, Pope Francis said the religious order provides a space for quiet and prayer in an otherwise rushed world, helping people to put God at the center of their lives.
"In this age, when people are so busy that they do not have enough time to listen to God's voice, your monasteries and convents become like oases, where men and women of all ages, backgrounds, cultures and religions can discover the beauty of silence," the pope said April 19.
At monasteries people can rediscover themselves, "in harmony with creation, allowing God to restore a proper order in their lives."
Pope Francis met with around 400 members of the Benedictine Confederation, a union of monastic congregations and the international governing body of the Order of Saint Benedict, for the 125th anniversary of its establishment by Leo XIII in 1893.