Pope Francis urges people to pray for Valencia, Spain, hit by floods at general audience

TO Christina Miller

Vatican, November 6, 2024 / 11:15

Opening his general audience Wednesday in St. Peter’s Square with a prayer to Our Lady of the Denied (Virgen de los Desamparados), patroness of Valencia, Spain, Pope Francis asked people to pray for victims of floods in Spain.

“I wanted to greet the Virgin de los Desamparados,” the pope told a crowd of pilgrims at the Vatican after laying a white rose in front of her statue. “Today let us pray in a special way for Valencia and for other regions of Spain that are suffering because of water,” the Holy Father said.

More than 200 people have been confirmed dead in Valencia after heavy rains hit the eastern Spanish province last week. Another 90 people were missing after severe flooding swept through the city, destroying homes and personal property, businesses, roads and other public infrastructure.

After praying to the Virgin Mary for the people of Spain, the Pope continued his catechesis on the Holy Spirit and the Church, focusing on the theme of Christian prayer: “We pray to receive the Holy Spirit, and we receive the Holy Spirit to pray sincerely; that is, as children of God, and not as slaves.”

Asking his listeners to reflect on St. Paul’s letter to the Romans, which emphasized the need to learn from the Holy Spirit to “pray as we ought,” the Holy Father emphasized that prayer should not come from a place of fear and punishment, but from a place of fear and punishment. the freedom and spontaneity of a child trusting in God.

“We all have little kids — kids (who are either) nephews, nieces or (sons and daughters of) friends — and they always get good things from us,” he said. “And as (God) the Father, will He not give us good things?”

According to the Holy Father, the only “power” people have before God is prayer, since “He does not resist prayer.” He said that it is the Holy Spirit who teaches the Church and every Christian how to pray.

“He testifies to us that we are children of God and puts on our lips the cry “Abba, Father!”,” the Pope said. “It is God praying within us.”

“True prayer,” according to the Holy Father, is when a person allows the Holy Spirit to come to the aid of our weakness and intercede for us “according to the will of God.”

“Jesus says seek first the Kingdom of God and all this will be given to you,” the Pope said. “Instead, we seek something above all else, namely our own interests, and completely forget to ask for the kingdom of God.”

Pray for peace supported by faith and hope

Turning his attention to the needs of those suffering around the world, including the sick and elderly, Pope Francis asked his audience to pray for those in war-torn countries at the conclusion of his general audience on November 6.

“We must not forget the martyr Ukraine, which suffers so much. We must not forget Palestine and Israel. Recently, 153 civilians were killed. It’s very sad. We must not forget Myanmar and we must not forget Valencia in Spain,” he said.

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Christina Millar is a freelance journalist with professional experience in humanitarian aid and development, news journalism, entertainment marketing, politics and government, business and entrepreneurship.