His pastoral ministry has led him to Franciscoafter Cuba, to the United States of America. At meeting with the bishops, in the cathedral of St. Matthew's Cathedral(Washington D.C., 23-IX-2015) he left them a message of closeness, dialogue and unity.

1. The Pope's closeness, as head of the Church, to confirm Christians in the unity of faith and love . As successor of Peter, he wanted to embrace everyone with the warmth of Christ's advertisement :

"When a hand is stretched out to do good or to bring Christ's charity to a brother, to wipe away a tear or to accompany a loneliness, to show the way to someone who has gone astray or to comfort a broken heart, to lean over one who has fallen or to teach one who thirsts for truth, to offer forgiveness or to guide towards a new beginning in God... know that the Pope accompanies you, the Pope supports you, he too rests his old and wrinkled hand on yours, but thanks be to God, still capable of supporting and encouraging you".

He then thanked the Americans for their support and solidarity, their commitment to the family and to the integration of immigrants, as well as their commitment to educational and charitable work in multiple institutions.

I speak to you," he said, reminding them of the meaning of his papal ministry and stressing charity in it once again, "as Bishop of Rome, called by God in my old age from a land that is also American, to guard the unity of the Universal Church and to encourage in charity the pathway of all the particular Churches, so that they may progress in the knowledge, in faith and in the love of Christ".

In the history of the local Churches in that country and in the wake of the visits of the three previous Popes, he invited them to discern, to "ask themselves about the path to follow, the sentiments to keep in mind while acting, the spirit with which to act".

2. Fundamental attitudes of pastoral ministry. He then summarized the content of the episcopal ministry in its essentials: praying, preaching, shepherding. And he also emphasized a few points:

"Not just any prayer, but family union with Christ (...). Not a preaching of complex doctrines, but the joyful advertisement of Christ, dead and risen for us. (...) Not to feed ourselves, but to know how to slow down, to lower ourselves, to decenter ourselves, in order to nourish the family of God with Christ (...). Do not look to the depths of your own self-referentiality, but always to God's horizons, which surpass whatever we are able to foresee or plan. (...) In the many paths that open up to your pastoral application , remember that you must keep indelibly the nucleus that unifies all things: 'you did it to me' (Mt 25:31-45)".

He then goes on to point out some fundamental attitudes: "We need a lucid perception of the battle between light and darkness", with "a spirit of courage and not of timidity", as promoters of the culture of meeting: "We are living sacraments of the embrace between divine richness and our poverty. Witnesses of the abasement and condescension of God who precedes in love even our first response". The method and the way is dialogue, the humble application for the other (cf. Mt 11, 28-30), to learn from Jesus, "to enter into his meekness and humility through the contemplation of his work". And all this great mission statement that the Lord entrusts to us, we have to develop it in communion, in a collegial way.

3. Some current challenges: unity, care for life and family, immigrants.

As a whole, Francis observes, the content of the episcopal mission statement is first of all to cement unity on the basis of the Word of God and the Eucharist, seeking to embrace nations, races, classes and generations.

He alludes to the imminent Year of Mercy, hoping that it can contribute to "strengthening communion, perfecting unity, reconciling differences, forgiving one another and overcoming every division, so that your light may shine like 'the city built on the mountain' (Mt 5:14)".

Among the challenges of our time, the defense and care of human life in all its conditions and stages stands out, together with the Christian message on the family (which will be recalled at the world-wide meeting in Philadelphia and then at the Synod in October), which must be proclaimed from a Church that is herself a family, close to the people.

Secondly, he refers to immigrants (particularly Hispanics, who come from Latin America), praising once again the efforts that the U.S. Church has been making for decades to understand and welcome them.

"Perhaps it will not be easy for you to read their souls; perhaps you will be put to test by their diversity. Know, however, that they also have resources to give you. Therefore, welcome them without fear. Offer them the warmth of Christ's love and you will decipher the mystery of their heart". All this with the certainty that they will enrich America and its Church.

The common Father of the Catholic faithful and head of the bishops has left this message - representative of all that he wanted to say these days in America - centered on the essential: unity of faith and love with facts and attention to reality. Now it is time to continue along these lines, which, by the way, are not only useful for the United States.