Pope invites Curia to live Lenten Spiritual Exercises in prayer

By Deborah Castellano Lubov

Pope Francis and the Roman Curia will be dedicating the first week of Lent to Spiritual Exercises, focused on private, personal prayer, the Holy See Press Office announced Monday morning, stating the Pope had invited all Cardinals residing in Rome, heads of Dicasteries, and Superiors of the Roman Curia to take the week for prayer.

Pope Francis’ engagements are suspended that week, including the General Audience of Wednesday, 21 February.

His next public event that week is expected to be his Sunday Angelus.

The Holy Father urged top officials of the Roman Curia to “experience in a personal way a period of Spiritual Exercises.”

In order to facilitate their personal retreat, he requested them to suspend their “work activities and engage in prayer from the afternoon of Sunday, 18 February, to the afternoon of Friday, 23 February."