Nomadelfia cries for Pope Francis' departure for eternal life. Fraternity was a watermark under which to read his entire pontificate and he also emphasized this fundamental word in the two particular meetings we had with him:

• his 80th birthday in the Clementine Hall, December 17, 2016
• and on May 10, 2018, when he came to visit us in Nomadelfia in Grosseto.

In the Clementine Hall, Don Zeno had recalled:

Fr Zeno Saltini, your founder, understood these things well and, despite difficulties and misunderstandings, he went forward confidently, with the aim of bringing the good seed of the Gospel, even to the driest soils. And he succeeded! Your community of Nomadelfia is proof of this. Don Zeno presents himself to us today as an example of a faithful disciple of Christ who, in imitation of the divine Master, bends over the sufferings of the weakest and poorest, becoming a witness of an inexhaustible charity. May his courage and perseverance guide you in your daily commitment to make fruitful the seeds of good that he abundantly sowed, animated by evangelical passion and sincere love for the Church. Whoever has fed, clothed, welcomed one of the poorest of men, will have fed, welcomed, loved the Son of God himself. Whoever, on the other hand, has rejected, driven out, forgotten one of the smallest and weakest, will have neglected God himself. As St. John says: "If you do not love your brother whom you see, how can you love God whom you do not see?" (cf. 1 Jn 4:20).

And in Nomadelfia in Grosseto, on May 10, 2018: Nomadelfia is a prophetic reality that aims to bring about a new civilization, implementing the Gospel as a form of good and beautiful life.

Your Founder dedicated himself with apostolic zeal to preparing the ground for the seed of the Gospel, so that it could bear fruits of new life. Growing up in the fields of the fertile plains of Emilia, he knew that, when the right season arrives, it is time to put his hand to the plough and prepare the soil for sowing. Jesus' phrase had remained impressed on him: "No one who puts his hand to the plough and then looks back is fit for the kingdom of God" ( Lc 9:62). He repeated it often, perhaps foreseeing the difficulties he would encounter in incarnating, in the concreteness of daily life, the renewing power of the Gospel.

The Law of fraternity , which characterizes your life, was the dream and goal of Don Zeno's entire existence, who desired a community of life inspired by the model outlined in the Acts of the Apostles: "The multitude of those who had become believers were of one heart and soul, and no one considered what belonged to him as his property, but all was common among them" ( At 4:32). I urge you to continue this way of life, trusting in the power of the Gospel and the Holy Spirit, through your clear Christian witness.