Paul KeenanPope Francis has officially closed the Year of Faith.
Before a packed St Peterís Square last Sunday, the Pontiff concluded the last celebration of the Year and reminded the faithful to keep Jesus ìcentralî to their lives.
ìJesus is the centre of creation; and so the attitude demanded of us as true believers is that of recognising and accepting in our lives the centrality of Jesus Christ, in our thoughts, in our words and in our works,î he said. ìIn him we are all one; united with him, we share a single journey, a single destiny. Christ is the centre of the history of the human race and of every man and woman. When Jesus is the centre, light shines even amid the darkest times of our lives; he gives us hope, as he does to the good thief in todayís Gospel.î
The event was the more notable for the presence of the relics of St Peter by the main altar throughout the ceremony. During the Creed, and in an historic moment, Pope Francis, the 266th Pope held the reliquary, containing eight bone fragments of the first Pope and publicly venerated his predecessor.
The event also saw Pope Francis deliver the text of his first Apostolic Exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium, to 36 representatives of the faithful.