Private meeting with the clergy of Rome in the Basilica of Saint John Lateran

On Saturday morning, 13 January, Pope Francis went to the Basilica of Saint John Lateran to meet with the clergy of Diocese of Rome. Cardinal Vicar Angelo De Donatis welcomed him to the Basilica a little after 9 a.m. The Holy Father then spoke privately with a group of over 800 clergymen, including diocesan and religious priests and permanent deacons. The Pope’s traditional meeting with the Roman clergy began with prayer, followed by words of welcome from the Cardinal. Speaking of Rome as a “land of mission”, according to the diocese’s website, Pope Francis urged those present to evangelize to the entire Church community, and he announced that he will resume his visits to the parishes in the diocese, which had stopped because of the Covid-19 pandemic.