Pope Francis greets pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square for his Wednesday general audience on Nov. 20, 2024, at the Vatican. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

Vatican City, Nov 20, 2024 / 13:25 pm (CNA).

To mark 1,000 days since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war, Pope Francis shared the “testimony of faith” of a Ukrainian student at his general audience on Wednesday, underscoring the power of faith, love, and hope amid the tragedy of violence.

In a letter to the Holy Father, the student, whose name was not announced, expressed the desire for the pope and all pilgrims at the Wednesday audience to know of the faith — and not just the sufferings — of the people of Ukraine.

“I thank God because, through this pain, I am learning greater love. Pain is not only a road to anger and despair; if based on faith, it is a good teacher of love,” the student wrote.

Describing the horrors of war that killed family members and thousands of other men, women, and children, the student said that if one suffers because of pain it “means that you love.”

“When you speak of our pain, when you remember our thousand days of suffering, speak of our thousand days of love, too, because only love, faith, and hope give a real meaning to our wounds,” the letter to the Holy Father read.

Visibly moved by the letter and the pope’s gesture to share the testimony of faith with hundreds of pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square, Olena Zelenska, wife of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine, met and personally greeted the pope at the conclusion of the audience.

Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati canonizations

During the Wednesday audience, Pope Francis announced that Blessed Carlo Acutis and Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, two young Italian Catholics popularly known for their vibrant faith and desire for holiness, will be canonized next year during the Church’s jubilee.  

The long-anticipated announcement was confirmed by Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni that the two blesseds will be canonized on separate dates. Acutis’ canonization is scheduled during the Church’s Jubilee of Teenagers from April 25–27, 2025, and Frassati’s canonization will take place during the Jubilee of Youth from July 28–Aug. 3, 2025.    

Pope announces 2025 children’s rights meeting in Vatican 

Choosing World Children’s Day, celebrated annually on Nov. 20, to make an additional surprise announcement, the pope shared that the Vatican will hold an international meeting to promote the dignity and rights of children on Feb. 3, 2025. 

“It will be an occasion on how we can better protect children, especially children who live without rights, who are abused and exploited and live also in situations of war,” he said on Wednesday.  

To celebrate the occasion and special announcement, the Holy Father invited several boys and girls from the Community of Sant’Egidio to come and receive his paternal blessing and take a group photo.

The Vatican has also released details of the new Pontifical Committee for the World Day of Children on Wednesday. Pope Francis has appointed Father Enzo Fortunato, OFM, the president of the newly-established committee tasked with promoting the Catholic Church’s mission to advocate for children’s rights.  

“Family, church, and state exist for children, not the other way around,” the pope said in a Nov. 20 chirograph. “From birth, every human being is the subject of inalienable, inviolable, and universal rights.”

Catechesis: Charisms are ‘jewels’ from the Holy Spirit

Speaking about the beauty of different personal and communal charisms found in the Church, Pope Francis stressed that Catholics need to “immediately dispel” the misunderstanding of identifying these “jewels” of the Holy Spirit as “spectacular and extraordinary gifts and capabilities.”

“Instead they are ordinary gifts that assume extraordinary value if inspired by the Holy Spirit and embodied with love in the situations of life,” he told those gathered in St. Peter’s Square.

“Such an interpretation of the charism is important,” the pope said.