Pope Benedict XVI (Philip Chidell / Shutterstock.com)
“Stephen’s story tells us many things: for example, that charitable social commitment must never be separated from the courageous proclamation of the faith. He was one of the seven made responsible above all for charity. But it was impossible to separate charity and faith. Thus, with charity, he proclaimed the crucified Christ, to the point of accepting even martyrdom. This is the first lesson we can learn from the figure of St. Stephen: charity and the proclamation of faith always go hand in hand.” (Pope Benedict XVI, General Audience, January 10, 2007)
