On September 1, Pope Francis received members of the Associazione dei Professori e Cultori di Liturgia (Association of Professors and Practitioners of Liturgy).

In his address, which the Vatican has not yet released in English, the Pope emphasized that it is important for liturgists “to listen to the Christian communities, so that your work is never separated from the expectations and needs of the people of God.”

Pope Francis called for “a liturgy that is not worldly, but that makes you raise your eyes to heaven, to feel that the world and life are inhabited by Mystery of Christ; and at the same time a ‘down to earth’ liturgy, propter homines [on account of men], not far from life.”

The Pontiff also praised the example of the Servant of God Romano Guardini (1885-1968): “May his figure and his approach to liturgical education, as modern as it is classical, be a point of reference to you.”

The Pope distinguished “true tradition,” which “grows from what comes from its roots,” from “going backwards,” which he described as “a worldly restorationism, disguised as liturgy and theology.”