On the eve of St. Clement’s liturgical recollection, an occasional article in the daily L’Osservatore Romano was published under the title: A continuing mission. Fr. Vincenzo La Mendola C.Ss.R. presents the person of St. Clement Hofbauer as a still valid example of the realization of the Redemptorist charism.
St. Clement Hofbauer is admired by the harmonious synthesis achieved by the Redemptorist between apostolic commitment, a life of prayer, which bordered on contemplation and his total immersion in today’s contemporary people, in situations of real emergency, humanitarian and pastoral. He found himself working in a multicultural context, characterized by ethnic and religious tensions and rivalries, carrying out an action of integration of minorities and promoting the encounter, with a patient work of mediation, with a pastoral care of welcoming, based on respect which, by shortening distances, focused on what unites. He anticipated the dream of “an outgoing Church with open doors” (Evangelii gaudium, 46).
Below we present the entire article that appeared in the Italian edition of L’Osservatore Romano, 14-15 March 2020, p. 4.
