Message to Pope Francis
and Closure of the EoF Global Gathering 2024
This message, in Spanish, was hand-delivered to Pope Francis:
Dear Pope Francis, good morning!
It is a joy for all of us to be here today representing thousands of young people from 120 countries who are now part of the Economy of Francesco. Your invitation in 2019 initiated a process that continues throughout the world and we have become a Community that shares the same vocation: to change the current economy and give a soul to the economy of tomorrow.
So the first words we want to tell you are thank you! Thank you for listening to the Spirit, for your service to the Church and the world. Thank you for calling us and trusting us, and for being our friend. Through your guidance, we have learned to see the world as Saint Francis of Assisi did—through the lens of fraternity and love for all of Creation. This journey has allowed us to deepen our understanding of his life and to learn from him how we can build and take care of all relationships that promote an integral ecology.
In these past 5 years, we have been growing as a Community that embraces the richness of diversity, welcoming people of all nationalities, religions, fields and perspectives.
Through our 12 thematic Villages and more than 50 local Hubs, and with the mentorship of many senior specialists from different areas, we have been working to create spaces where everyone feels included, and where intergenerational, interdisciplinary, and multicultural collaboration thrives. Around the world, the members of our community have launched numerous initiatives to promote and demonstrate that an economy that cares for the earth, peace, and life is possible and exists.
We have been translating EoF’s vision into reality by working on various projects to promote a better economy such as conferences, theses, publications, as well as startups, workshops with local communities, and calls to action. Many of us are working directly with the poor, the excluded and the most vulnerable in the process of transforming socioeconomic realities, and enabling them to lead the change. Also, the Economy of Francesco has inspired countless encounters, initiatives, and also people, businesses and organizations that share the spirit of EoF and want to transform the current economy.
We know there are many challenges and much work still to be done. The questions we face are complex, and the answers are not always clear. But we are committed to this journey—not in search of quick fixes, but in pursuit of meaningful dialogue, innovation, and real change. We seek to create an economy where vocation and profit are not at odds, but rather, work hand in hand to foster human dignity and ecological sustainability. The Pact we signed with you in Assisi is not just a set of goals; it is our roadmap for action and an inspiration for our personal vocations.
The new EoF Foundation is an exciting and important step for us. With the support of this new structure, we hope to continue growing and working towards practical outcomes that reflect the integral economy we aspire to create—one that recovers its roots and is based on solidarity and cooperation. To achieve this, we will advocate in key decision-making environments and continue to build bridges with other movements across the world to promote an economy that fosters integral human development and economic dignity.
Like a forest that grows in silence, our efforts may not always make headlines, but they are creating a lasting impact, cultivated by the heads, hearts and hands of those who believe in a better future.
Dear Pope Francis, please pray for us! We want and will continue this path by your side and guided by Saint Francis of Assisi, pilgrim and messenger of peace.
Closure of the EoF Global Gathering 2024
Thank you, thank you to all of you, EoF it’s yours, it’s your effort, the result of the individuals that conform this wonderful Community, a Community of friends, a Community that dreams of a better future, that demands better conditions and that works for a fairer present. Because the sum of our efforts pushes, because when we raise our voice it’s heard, because we know we deserve it.
Please reach out to the closest EoF member, reach to the members of the General Assembly, reach to whoever shares our values and vision, invite them, let’s continue moving as a community. Let’s march together to a better future, let’s not lose hope, let’s trust, believe, work and pray for a future where the Human Being is at the center.
Also Thank:
Once again The EoF founders: bishop Domenico Sorrentino, Francesca di Maolo and Luigino Bruni
The technical team: Francesco, Anna, Giovanni, Roberto
Our dear friend and EoF member Jean-Marc
And the Centro Mariapoli Internazionale in Castel Gandolfo, Rome, Italy
We would like to invite you to multiply the word of EoF, invite more members, propose more projects, demand more activity, dream and work with your neighbor, with your friend, with your not-friend, this world is our shared home.
Let’s grow in empathy, in patience, but most importantly, in love, in solidarity and in joy. Now we have prepared a brief video that we’d like to share with you, that we’d like you to be part of, these have been the steps of these past days, but most important, the impulse to the ones we’ll take in the future, together, we are Economy of Francesco.
