“Everyone, everyone, everyone,” was a phrase often used by Pope Francis. The Pope kept calling for inclusion and acceptance of all others. Pope Francis often said that the Catholic Church, and by extension, society, should be open to all, regardless of their background, status, or perceived imperfections.
The following “All Are Welcome” resonates the call of Pope Francis. Recently there were copies of this in every pew at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish Community in Daytona, Florida. People were asked to take it home and to share it.
ALL ARE WELCOME!
We extend a special welcome to those
Who are single, married, divorced, gay, filthy rich, dirt poor, y no habla Ingles.
We extend a special welcome to those
Who are crying newborns, skinny as a rail, or could afford to lose a few pounds.
We welcome you
If you can sing like Andrea Bocelli or like our pastor who can’t carry a note in a bucket.
You’re welcome here
If you’re “just browsing,” just woke up, or just got out of jail.
We don’t care
If you’re more Catholic than the Pope, or haven’t been to church since little Joey’s baptism.
We extend a special welcome
To those who are over 60 but not grown up yet, and to teenagers who are growing up too fast.
We welcome
Soccer moms, NASCAR dads, starving artists, tree-huggers, latte-sippers, vegetarians and junk-food eaters.
We welcome
Those who are in recovery or are still addicted.
We welcome you
If you’re having problems, or you’re down in the dumps, or you don’t like “organized religion.” We’ve been there too.
If you blew all your offering money at the casino,
You’re welcome here.
We offer a special welcome
To those who think the earth is flat, work too hard, don’t work, can’t spell, or came because grandma is in town and wanted to go to church.
We welcome those
Who are inked, pierced or both.
We offer a special welcome
To those who could use a prayer right now, had religion shoved down your throat as a kid, or got lost in traffic and wound up here by mistake.
We welcome
The flexible, inflexible, tolerant & intolerant, those who laughed as well as those who gasped at this welcome card.
We welcome
Tourists, seekers, doubters, bleeding hearts and you!
Author Unknown
Do invite YOUR pastor and/or parish council to make “All Are Welcome” available to all of YOUR parish members.
BEFORE GOD, WE ARE ALL EQUALLY WISE….AND EQUALLY FOOLISH!
My Commentary:
The repeated phrase “Everyone, everyone, everyone,” so often used by Pope Francis, is not merely rhetorical flourish—it is the Gospel distilled into a single word. “Everyone” reflects Jesus’ own radical openness, whether He was dining with sinners, healing outcasts, or lifting up the brokenhearted.
The Holy Father’s call to inclusion is a reminder that the Church is not a museum for saints but a field hospital for the wounded. And the welcome poem embodies this spirit—warm, irreverent, surprising, and completely sincere.
This welcome is not about loosening doctrine or diluting truth. Rather, it’s about meeting people where they are. It’s about seeing the person first—not their past, not their lifestyle, not their brokenness, not even their religion. “Everyone” is a theological stance. It’s the conviction that God’s grace is larger than any label we can assign.
Too often, our parishes resemble closed circles—familiar faces, familiar customs, and unconscious barriers that prevent the “outsider” from becoming a neighbor. But this “All Are Welcome” manifesto breaks the mold. It dares to name people we’re uncomfortable with. It names the messy, the skeptical, the different—and says: “You’re not only tolerated here. You belong here.”
Imagine if every church posted such a welcome on its doors. Imagine if every Catholic community acted as if “everyone” truly meant everyone. The gospel would ring out not just in homilies, but in hospitality.
My Prayer Reflection:
God of the open door,
You welcomed shepherds and sages, lepers and lovers, sinners and saints.
You never asked for credentials—only hearts willing to be loved.
Today, we ask for Your Spirit of welcome to descend on us.
Break through our walls of judgment, our fears of difference,
our tight circles of comfort.
Teach us to open our arms as You open Yours—wide enough to embrace the whole world.
Let us not be a Church of locked gates and reserved pews,
but a home where the lonely find belonging,
where the weary find rest,
where the skeptical find room to question,
and where the hurting find healing.
Lord, You came not for the well, but for the wounded.
May we never forget that we are all wounded—
and all are welcome. Amen.
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