“The priestly figure in the midst of the people is important, because in Sicily, people still look to priests as spiritual and moral guides, people who can also help improve the civil and social life of the island, support the family and be a reference for growing young people,” Pope Francis said in a June 9 address to Sicilian bishops and priests, in which he also called on those present to “embrace bitterness with tenderness.”

The Pope continued, “Dear friends, there is still the lace, the coins; but where are we? Sixty years after the Council! Some updating even in liturgical art, in liturgical ‘fashion’! Yes, sometimes bringing some of grandma’s lace is fine, but only sometimes. It is to pay homage to the grandmother, no? You understand, don’t you?”

“It is nice to pay homage to the grandmother, but it is better to celebrate the mother, the holy mother Church, and how the mother Church wants to be celebrated,” he added. “And do not let insularity impede the true liturgical reform that the Council sent forth.”