Religious orders give church, world models of charity, says pope

Published: 2006-01-30

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Citing his recent encyclical, Pope Benedict XVI said religious orders through the centuries have given the church and the world models of Christian charity. The pope made the remarks at his Sunday blessing Jan. 29, as he looked forward to the celebration of the World Day for Consecrated Life, which is observed in Rome on the feast of the Presentation of the Lord Feb. 2. The pope noted that in his first encyclical, titled "Deus Caritas Est" ("God Is Love"), he had written about the important witness of charity given by the saints, from the earliest days of the church to modern times. Many of the saints, he said, were members of religious orders, including figures like St. Thomas Aquinas, the Dominican theologian; St. John Bosco, the Salesian who worked with young people; and St. Angela Merici, who founded the Ursulines and launched its teaching mission. Among the saints devoted to charity, the pope named Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta, whose Missionaries of Charity work with the poor around the world.

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