from EoF editorial staff

We thank Pope Francis for the words of gratitude, trust and encouragement he has given to Bishop Monsignor Domenico Sorrentino, Chairman of the Organizing Committee, and to the Committee Members, Luigino Bruni and Francesca Di Maolo, entrusting them with the task of continuing to guard The Economy of Francesco and defining the new organizational structure of coordination, which the world’s young economists and entrepreneurs need.

This letter represents a first and fundamental result (the result of a long process of listening and discernment carried out in the year that has just ended) that we are very happy about, confident that Pope Francis’ words will support the new phase of EoF, which, we are sure, will be even more beautiful and generative than the already luminous and prophetic one that EoF has experienced so far.

As and more than ever, we count on the commitment, joy, enthusiasm, creativity, ideas, and passion of each of the young people of EoF, to whom we recall the words that Pope Francis himself addressed to them last October 6: “May you not lack patience and resourcefulness to let yourselves be known and to establish gradually more stable and fruitful connections. […] Give voice and shape to a people, because the concreteness of the economy and the solutions you are studying and experimenting with involve the lives of all. There is more room for you than appears today. Therefore, I ask you to remain actively united, building on operational issues real bridges between continents that will take humanity out of the colonial and inequality era for good. Give faces, content and projects to a universal fraternity.”

Best wishes dear friends, we count on you. Always.

from VATICAN NEWS, after the press release

Pope Francis sends a letter to Archbishop Domenico Sorrentino confirming the Bishop of Assisi’s role in leading the Economy of Francesco, urging the movement to help interpret the dreams of young people.

Pope Francis has reappointed Archbishop Domenico Sorrentino, the bishop of the Italian Dioceses of Assisi–Nocera Umbra–Gualdo Tadino, and Foligno, to lead the Economy of Francesco. This movement, comprised of economists, entrepreneurs, activists, and sustainable economy promoters under 35, is inspired by Saint Francis of Assisi and aims to foster an economy of peace with a “human face.”

In his letter, dated 5 December and released on Monday, the Pope addressed the other members of the Economy of Francesco’s Organizing Committee, including economist Luigino Bruni and Francesca di Maolo,

president of the Serafico Institute. The reappointment reaffirms Archbishop Sorrentino’s role in coordinating the project’s organizational guidelines in collaboration with the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development.

Pope Francis emphasized the special connection with the Church that has hosted the Economy of Francesco since its inception. “Considering the bond that has been created with the particular Church that has hosted the Economy of Francesco initiative from the beginning,” read the Pope’s letter, “I therefore entrust the entire project to the pastoral care of the Bishop of Assisi-Nocera Umbra-Gualdo Tadino, so that, as the competent authority, he may provide for everything necessary to give it the due legal status, issuing, if necessary, appropriate measures and norms. The same ordinary will have oversight of the Economy of Francesco in accordance with canon law.” The Pope specified that the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development will continue to assist the movement in issues related to “the Pontifical Magisterium and the Social Doctrine of the Church.”

Pope Francis also acknowledged the involvement of active young people from various global regions in shaping the organizational and governance aspects of the initiative. “I therefore ask you to interpret what the youth are dreaming and carrying forward,” he urged the Committee. Expressing his gratitude for the work of the Committee members, the Pope imparted his blessing and asked for prayers.

Archbishop Sorrentino responded to the Pope’s letter by expressing gratitude for his trust in the movement and the Organizing Committee’s work. “I hope in due time,” said the Archbishop, “to provide so that this process, which sees many young people around the world engaged with enthusiasm and competence, can have the success it deserves for the integral renewal of the economy in the name of solidarity, justice, and respect for the environment.”