Fr. Pierre Salabert, L.C
Rector
Dear friends,
This Lent 2025 is framed in the Jubilee of Hope. The deepest meaning of Lent is precisely to set us on the road to Easter. In other words, Lent is an itinerary of hope towards the victory of the Risen Christ.
The Lenten journey insofar as it leads us toward the paschal light of Christ. It is a path that transforms us and frees our hearts and prepares our souls through the works of penance (fasting, prayer and almsgiving) and opens us to the fullness of our Christian vocation, that of being children of God, in the Son who is Jesus, through the action of his Spirit.
This is what the Pope invites us to do in his message for Lent 2025: “First of all, to walk. The motto of the Jubilee, ‘Pilgrims of Hope’”. For our journey of conversion the Pope invites us to be, ‘Pilgrims of life’ learning from life and accompanying the passage of life of our brothers and sisters, especially those who suffer most. Thus the Pope emphasizes that we make this journey together, in community.
Pope Francis says, “The vocation of the Church is to walk together, to be synodal. Christians are called to journey together, never as solitary travelers. The Holy Spirit urges us to go out of ourselves to go towards God and towards our brothers and sisters, and never to close in on ourselves. Walking together means being artisans of unity, starting from our common dignity as children of God.
The Lenten journey leads us to live in the hope that is born of the great Christian certainty that Pope Francis expresses in his message: “Jesus, our love and our hope, is risen, and he lives and reigns glorious. Death has been transformed into victory and in this lies the faith and hope of Christians, in the resurrection of Christ.”
With this message of hope, I wish you all a holy Lenten journey in preparation for a truly full and happy Easter of resurrection. And may Mary, Mother of Christ, Our Hope, intercede for each of our friends, family members, benefactors, students and alumni.
May God bless and accompany you always!
Fr. Pierre Salabert, L.C.
Rector