Pope Benedict Greets Acton Institute

by Michael Severance • September 20, 2011

Pope Benedict XVI warmly greeted a group of 23 Acton Institute staff and supporters on pilgrimage at his Castel Gandolfo summer palace this past Sunday, September 18.

During the traditional Sunday Angelus audience inside the papal summer palace courtyard, Benedict delivered an inspiring talk on Christ’s parable of the workers in the vineyard — a most appropriate Christian teaching upon which the Acton Institute often reflects and articulates during its economics seminars to religious students and business professionals throughout the world.

The Holy Father said:

I offer a warm welcome to the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors present at this Angelus prayer, including those from the Acton Institute … In this Sunday’s Gospel, we hear Jesus compare the Kingdom of Heaven to the actions of a landowner who is generous to all the workers in his vineyard. Perhaps at times we may feel envious of the success of others or feel that we have not been sufficiently thanked for our service. May we always strive to be humble servants of the Lord and rejoice when God bestows abundant graces on those around us. I wish you a good Sunday. May God bless all of you!

If you want to see a recorded video of the audience, click below:

Michael Severance

Michael Severance earned his B.A. in philosophy and humane letters from the University of San Francisco, where he also studied at the university's St. Ignatius Institute, a great books program. He then pursued his linguistic studies in Salamanca, Spain where he obtained his Advanced Diploma in Spanish from Spain's Ministry of Education before obtaining his M.A. in Philosophy and Modern Languages from the University of Oxford. While living in Italy, Michael has worked in various professional capacities in religious journalism, public relations, marketing, fundraising, as well as property redevelopment and management. As Istituto Acton's Operations Manager, Michael is responsible for helping to organize international conferences, increase private funding, as well as expand networking opportunities and relations among European businesses, media and religious communities, while managing the day-to-day operations of the Rome office.

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