Speeches 2005-13






"URBI ET ORBI" APOSTOLIC BLESSING FIRST GREETING OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI Tuesday, 19 April 2005

19045 Central loggia of St. Peter's Basilica


Dear Brothers and Sisters,

After the great Pope John Paul II, the Cardinals have elected me, a simple and humble labourer in the vineyard of the Lord.

The fact that the Lord knows how to work and to act even with inadequate instruments comforts me, and above all I entrust myself to your prayers.

Let us move forward in the joy of the Risen Lord, confident of his unfailing help. The Lord will help us and Mary, his Most Holy Mother, will be on our side. Thank you.


TO THE MEMBERS OF THE COLLEGE OF CARDINALS Clementine Hall Friday, 22 April 2005

Venerable Brother Cardinals,

1. I am also meeting you today and I would like to tell you in a simple, brotherly way of the state of mind that I am experiencing in these days. The intense emotions that I felt on the occasion of the death of my Venerable Predecessor John Paul II and then during the Conclave, and especially at its conclusion, amount to a deep need for silence and two complementary sentiments: a profound, heartfelt desire to give thanks and a feeling of human powerlessness as I face the lofty task that awaits me.

First of all, gratitude. I feel it my duty, in the first place, to thank God who wanted me, despite my human frailty, as the Successor of the Apostle Peter, and has entrusted to me the task of governing and guiding the Church so that she may be the sacrament of unity in the world for the entire human race (cf. Lumen Gentium LG 1). We are certain: it is the eternal Pastor who leads his flock with the power of his Spirit and assures it in every age to the Pastors whom he has chosen. In these days, the Christian people have prayed in unison for the new Pontiff, and my first Meeting with the faithful in the evening of the day before yesterday in St Peter's Square was truly moving: to everyone, Bishops, priests, men and women Religious, young people and the elderly, I extend my most heartfelt gratitude for their spiritual solidarity.

2. I feel I owe deep thanks to each one of you, Venerable Brothers, beginning with Cardinal Angelo Sodano, who has just expressed affection and cordial good wishes to me on behalf of you all. With him I thank the Camerlengo, Cardinal Eduardo Martínez Somalo, for his generous service in this sensitive period of passage.

I would next like to extend my sincere gratitude to all the members of the College of Cardinals for their active collaboration in the management of the Church during the Vacant See. I would like to greet with special affection the Cardinals who were prevented by age or illness from taking part in the Conclave. I am grateful to each one for your example of availability and fraternal communion as well as for your intense prayers, both of which are expressions of faithful love for the Church, the Bride of Christ.

In addition, I cannot fail to address my heartfelt thanks to all those, in their different capacities, who cooperated in the organization and unfolding of the Conclave and helped the Cardinals in many ways to spend these days laden with responsibility in the safest and most tranquil manner.

3. Venerable Brothers, I owe you my most personal gratitude for the trust you have placed in me by electing me Bishop of Rome and Pastor of the universal Church. It is an act of trust that encourages me to undertake this new mission more serenely, for I am convinced that in addition to God's indispensable help I can also count on your generous collaboration. Please never let me lack your support!

If on the one hand I am aware of my personal limitations and limited abilities, on the other hand I well know the nature of the mission entrusted to me and am preparing myself to carry it out with an attitude of inner dedication. It is not a matter of honours but of a service to be rendered with simplicity and willingness, imitating our Teacher and Lord who did not come to be served but to serve (cf. Mt 20,28), and at the Last Supper washed the Apostles' feet, commanding them to do likewise (cf. Jn 13,13-14). It only remains for me, and for all of us together, to accept from Providence the will of God and to do our best to measure up to it, helping one another to carry out our respective tasks in the service of the Church.

4. I would like at this moment to think back to my Venerable Predecessors, Bl. John XXIII, the Servants of God Paul VI and John Paul I, and especially John Paul II, whose witness in his last days gave us more support than ever and whose lively presence we still continue to feel. The sorrowful event of his death, after a period of great trials and suffering, proved to have the paschal features for which he had expressed the hope in his Testament (24 February-1 March 1980). The light and strength of the Risen Christ shone out in the Church from that sort of "last Mass" that he celebrated in his agony, which culminated in the "Amen" of a life entirely offered, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, for the world's salvation.

5. Venerable Brothers! Each one of you will now be returning to your respective Sees to resume your work, but spiritually we will remain united in the faith and love of the Lord, in the bond of the Eucharistic celebration, in persistent prayer and in the sharing of our daily apostolic ministry. Your spiritual closeness, your enlightened advice and your effective cooperation will be a gift for me for which I will always be grateful and an incentive to fulfil the mandate entrusted to me with total fidelity and dedication.

I entrust all of us and the expectations, hopes and worries of the entire community of Christians to the Virgin Mother of God, who accompanied the steps of the newborn Church with her silent presence and comforted the faith of the Apostles. I ask you to walk under the motherly protection of Mary, Mater Ecclesiae, docile and obedient to the voice of her divine Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ. As I call upon her constant patronage, I impart to each one of you and to all those whom divine Providence entrusts to your pastoral care my heartfelt Apostolic Blessing.
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TO THE REPRESENTATIVES OF SOCIAL COMMUNICATIONS Saturday, 23 April 2005



Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,

1. It is a pleasure to meet with you and I cordially greet you, journalists, photographers, television technicians and all those who, in various sectors, belong to the world of communications. Thank you for your visit and especially for the service that you have provided to the Holy See and the Catholic Church throughout these days. I cordially greet Archbishop John Patrick Foley, President of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, and I thank him for the words he addressed to me on behalf of all who are present.

It can be said that, thanks to your work, the attention of the entire world has been fixed for some weeks now on the Basilica, on St Peter's Square and on the Apostolic Palace, the latter where my Predecessor, the unforgettable Pope John Paul II, peacefully ended his earthly existence, and where afterwards, in the Sistine Chapel, the Cardinals elected me as his Successor.

2. Thanks to all of you, these historically important ecclesial events have had worldwide coverage. I know how hard you have worked, far away from your homes and families, for long hours and in sometimes difficult conditions. I am aware of the skill and dedication with which you have accomplished your demanding task. In my own name, and especially on behalf of Catholics living far from Rome, who were able to participate in these stirring moments for our faith as they were taking place, I thank you for all you have done. The possibilities opened up for us by modern means of social communication are indeed marvellous and extraordinary!

The Second Vatican Council spoke of the great potential of the media. In fact, the Council Fathers devoted their first Document to this theme, and said that the media, "by their nature, are capable of reaching and influencing not only individuals, but whole masses of people, indeed the whole of humanity" (Inter Mirifica IM 1). Ever since 4 December 1963, when the Decree Inter Mirifica was promulgated, humanity has been witnessing an extraordinary media revolution, affecting every aspect of human life.

3. Fully aware of her mission and the importance of the media, the Church, especially beginning with the Second Vatican Council, sought out collaboration with the world of social communications. Certainly, John Paul II was a great pioneer of this open and sincere dialogue, together with you, workers in the field of social communications, with whom he maintained constant and fruitful relations throughout the more than 26 years of his Pontificate. And it was precisely to those responsible for social communications that he wished to dedicate one of his last Documents, the Apostolic Letter of 24 January, which calls to mind that "ours is an age of global communication in which countless moments of human existence are either spent with, or at least confronted by, the different processes of the mass media" (Rapid Development, n. 3).

It is my desire to continue this fruitful dialogue, and in this way I share an observation made by John Paul II: "The current phenomenon of communications impels the Church towards a sort of pastoral and cultural revision, so as to deal adequately with the times in which we live" (ibid., n. 8).

4. The responsible contribution of each and every one is needed, so that instruments of social communication can provide a positive service to the common good. An ever better understanding of the perspectives and responsibility that their development involves becomes necessary with regard to the influences which, as a matter of fact, can be ascertained on the conscience and mentality of individuals and on the formation of public opinion. Those who thus work in this field must be given clear indications of their ethical responsibility, especially regarding the sincere search for truth and protection of the centrality and dignity of the person. Only with these conditions are the media able to respond to the design of God, who placed them at our disposal "to discover, to use and to make known the truth, also the truth about our dignity and about our destiny as his children, heirs of his eternal Kingdom" (ibid., n. 14).

5. Dear Ladies and Gentlemen, I thank you again for the important service that you provide to society. I extend to each one of you my cordial appreciation with the assurance of a remembrance in my prayer for all your intentions. I extend my greeting to your families and to all who belong to your work community. Through the intercession of the heavenly Mother of Christ, I invoke abundantly upon each of you the gifts of God, through whom I impart my Blessing to all.


TO THE DELEGATES OF OTHER CHURCHES AND ECCLESIAL COMMUNITIES AND OF OTHER RELIGIOUS TRADITIONS


Clementine Hall Monday, 25 April 2005
Dear Delegates of the Orthodox Churches, of the Oriental Orthodox Churches and of the Ecclesial Communities of the West, I greet you with joy a few days after my election. I particularly appreciated your presence in St Peter's Square yesterday, after we had lived together the sorrowful moments of the farewell to our late Pope John Paul II. The tribute of sympathy and affection that you expressed to my unforgettable Predecessor went far beyond a mere act of ecclesial courtesy. Much progress was made during the years of his Pontificate, and your participation in the mourning of the Catholic Church on his departure has shown how true and great the common eagerness for unity is.

In greeting you, I would like to thank the Lord who has blessed us with his mercy and instilled in us sincere willingness to make his prayer our own: ut unum sint. He has thus made us increasingly aware of the importance of moving forward towards full communion. With brotherly friendship we can exchange the gifts we have received from the Spirit, and we feel urged to encourage one another so that we may proclaim Christ and his message to the world, which often appears troubled and restless, uninformed and indifferent.

Our meeting today is particularly important. First of all, it enables the new Bishop of Rome, Pastor of the Catholic Church, to repeat to you all with simplicity: Duc in altum! Let us go forward with hope. In the footsteps of my Predecessors, especially Paul VI and John Paul II, I feel strongly the need to reassert the irreversible commitment taken by the Second Vatican Council and pursued in recent years, also thanks to the activity of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. The path to the full communion desired by Jesus for his disciples entails, with true docility to what the Spirit says to the Churches, courage, gentleness, firmness and hope, in order to reach our goal. Above all, it requires persistent prayer and with one heart, in order to obtain from the Good Shepherd the gift of unity for his flock.

How can we not recognize in a spirit of gratitude to God that our meeting also has the significance of a gift that has already been granted? In fact, Christ, the Prince of Peace, has acted in our midst: he has poured out friendship by the handful, he has mitigated points of disagreement, he has taught us to be more open to dialogue and in harmony with the commitments proper to those who bear his Name. Over and above what divides us and casts shadows on our full and visible communion, your presence, dear Brothers in Christ, is a sign of sharing and support for the Bishop of Rome, who can count on you to continue the journey in hope and to grow towards the One who is Christ, the Head.
On such a special occasion, when we are gathered together at the very beginning of my ecclesial service, welcomed with respect and trusting obedience to the Lord, I ask you all to join with me in setting an example of that spiritual ecumenism which, through prayer, can bring about our communion without obstacles.

I entrust these intentions and reflections to you together with my most cordial greetings, so that you may pass them on to your Churches and Ecclesial Communities.

I turn now to you, dear friends from different religious traditions, and I thank you sincerely for your presence at the solemn inauguration of my Pontificate. I offer warm and affectionate greetings to you and to all those who belong to the religions that you represent. I am particularly grateful for the presence in our midst of members of the Muslim community, and I express my appreciation for the growth of dialogue between Muslims and Christians, both at the local and international level. I assure you that the Church wants to continue building bridges of friendship with the followers of all religions, in order to seek the true good of every person and of society as a whole.

The world in which we live is often marked by conflicts, violence and war, but it earnestly longs for peace, peace which is above all a gift from God, peace for which we must pray without ceasing. Yet peace is also a duty to which all peoples must be committed, especially those who profess to belong to religious traditions. Our efforts to come together and foster dialogue are a valuable contribution to building peace on solid foundations. Pope John Paul II, my Venerable Predecessor, wrote at the start of the new Millennium that "the name of the one God must become increasingly what it is: a name of peace and a summons to peace" (Novo Millennio Ineunte NM 55). It is therefore imperative to engage in authentic and sincere dialogue, built on respect for the dignity of every human person, created, as we Christians firmly believe, in the image and likeness of God (cf. Gn 1,26-27).

At the beginning of my Pontificate, I address to you and to all believers of the religious traditions that you represent, as well as to all who seek the Truth with a sincere heart, a pressing invitation together to become artisans of peace, in a reciprocal commitment to understanding, respect and love.

My cordial greeting to you all.


TO THE GERMAN PILGRIMS WHO HAD COME TO ROME FOR THE INAUGURATION CEREMONY OF THE PONTIFICATE Monday, 25 April 2005

Dear German fellow citizens,

First of all, I apologize for being late. Germans are known for their punctuality, and this is a sign that I have become quite Italianized. However, we were at an ecumenical meeting with representatives of ecumenism from across the world, of all the Churches and Ecclesial Communities and with the representatives of other religions. It was a most cordial meeting, and so it was rather long. But now, finally, I cordially welcome you!

I warmly thank you for your good wishes, the words and signs of affection and of friendship that I have received overwhelmingly from every part of Germany. At the beginning of my journey in a ministry that I never even imagined and for which I felt inadequate, all of this gives me great strength and assistance. May God reward you for this!

When, little by little, the trend of the voting led me to understand that, to say it simply, the axe was going to fall on me, my head began to spin. I was convinced that I had already carried out my life's work and could look forward to ending my days peacefully. With profound conviction I said to the Lord: Do not do this to me! You have younger and better people at your disposal, who can face this great responsibility with greater dynamism and greater strength.

I was then very touched by a brief note written to me by a brother Cardinal. He reminded me that on the occasion of the Mass for John Paul II, I had based my homily, starting from the Gospel, on the Lord's words to Peter by the Lake of Gennesaret: "Follow me!". I spoke of how again and again, Karol Wojtyla received this call from the Lord, and how each time he had to renounce much and to simply say: Yes, I will follow you, even if you lead me where I never wanted to go.

This brother Cardinal wrote to me: Were the Lord to say to you now, "Follow me", then remember what you preached. Do not refuse! Be obedient in the same way that you described the great Pope, who has returned to the house of the Father. This deeply moved me. The ways of the Lord are not easy, but we were not created for an easy life, but for great things, for goodness.

Thus, in the end I had to say "yes". I trust in the Lord and I trust in you, dear friends. A Christian is never alone, as I said yesterday in my Homily. In this way, I expressed the marvellous experience that we all lived through in the past four extraordinary weeks. Following the Pope's death and all the sorrow that it brought, the living Church emerged. It was clear that the Church is a unifying force, a sign for humanity.

When the great radio and television broadcasting stations gave 24-hour coverage on the Pope's return to the house of the Father, of people's grief, of the accomplishments of this great man, they were responding to a participation that exceeded every expectation. The Pope appeared to them as a father who offered them security and trust, who in some way united everyone.

It became obvious that the Church is not closed in on herself and does not exist only for herself, but is a shining point for humanity. Indeed, it was seen that the Church is not old and immobile. No, she is young.

If we look at these young people who were gathered around the late Pope, and as a result, around Christ, whose cause the Pope espoused, something just as comforting could be seen: it is not true that young people think only of consumerism and pleasure. It is not true that they are materialistic and self-centred. Just the opposite is true: young people want great things. They want an end to injustice. They want inequalities to be overcome and all peoples to have their share in the earth's goods. They want freedom for the oppressed. They want great things, good things.

This is why young people are - you are - once again fully open to Christ. Christ did not promise an easy life. Those who desire comforts have dialled the wrong number. Rather, he shows us the way to great things, the good, towards an authentic human life.

When he speaks of the cross that we ourselves have to carry, it has nothing to do with a taste for torture or of pedantic moralism. It is the impulse of love, which has its own momentum and does not seek itself but opens the person to the service of truth, justice and the good. Christ shows God to us, and thus the true greatness of man.

I am greatly pleased to see here the delegations and pilgrims from my Bavarian Homeland. Already on previous occasions, I have been able to tell you how much your faithful affection means to me, which has lasted since I left my beloved Archdiocese of Munich and Freising to go to the Vatican, responding to the call of my Venerable Predecessor Pope John Paul II, who appointed me as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith more than 23 years ago.

Since then, I have always been aware that Bavaria and Rome are not far apart, and not only from a geographical standpoint; rather, they have always been two poles between which a reciprocal, fruitful relationship has existed. From Rome, by means of tradesmen, officials and soldiers, the Gospel reached the Danube and the Lech.

In the 16th and 17th centuries, Bavaria offered one of the most beautiful witnesses of fidelity to the Catholic Church. This can be seen in the fruitful exchange of culture and devotion between baroque Bavaria and the See of the Successor of Peter. In modern times, it was Bavaria that gave the universal Church that lovable Capuchin porter, St Konrad von Parzham.

Dear friends, let us keep up this generosity, this pilgrimage towards Christ. I joyfully look forward to Cologne, where the youth of the world will meet; or rather, where the youth of the world will hold their meeting with Christ.

Let us walk together, let us be united. I trust in your help. I ask for your understanding if I make mistakes, as happens to any man, or if something that the Pope has to say or do according to his own conscience or the conscience of the Church is not understood. I ask for your trust. If we stay united, then we will discover the right path. And let us pray to Mary, Mother of the Lord, so that she will enable us to feel her love as a woman and a mother, in which we can understand all of the depth of Christ's mystery.

The Lord bless you all!



TO THE PEOPLE OF CASTEL GANDOLFO DURING HIS VISIT TO THE PONTIFICAL VILLAS Castel Gandolfo Thursday, 5 May 2005

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I have come today to meet you for the first time, dear friends of Castel Gandolfo. Thank you for coming and for your cordiality. The reason for my visit today is to make contact with the Apostolic Palace and the Pontifical Villas, where, God willing, I plan to spend the summer months as my Venerable Predecessors used to do. It is the first of many other appointments that I hope to have with you in your beautiful little town.

I greet the Secretary of State, Cardinal Angelo Sodano, the Pastor of the Diocese of Albano, Bishop Marcello Semeraro, the Parish Priest of Castel Gandolfo, together with the priests who assist him and the entire parish community. I then greet the Director of the Pontifical Villas, Dr Saverio Petrillo, and those who work here, contributing to its daily upkeep. Lastly, I greet the Mayor and the Town Council, and through them I extend my gratitude to your town, always ready to welcome tourists and pilgrims. To all those who are inhabitants of Castel Gandolfo I wish to extend my most heartfelt best wishes for serenity and peace.


TO THE NEW RECRUITS OF THE PONTIFICAL SWISS GUARD Friday, 6 May 2005


Distinguished Commandant,
Reverend Chaplain,
My Dear Guardsmen,
Dear Parents and Friends of the Pontifical Swiss Guard Corps,

I address a very cordial greeting to all of you and welcome you to the Pope's house! From the very first hours of my Pontificate, you, the Swiss Guards, have been faithful and available to me. You accompany the Successor of Peter "step by step" and effectively guarantee his protection, so that, free from concern for his own safety, he can carry out his service for the salvation of men and women and the good of peoples.

Dear friends, I am really extraordinarily glad that the traditional swearing-in ceremony of the recruits just a few days after the beginning of my Pontificate gives me an opportunity to address a word of recognition, gratitude and encouragement to you all. At this time you are my guests here in the Apostolic Palace, the most important "place of service" for the Swiss Guard!

I naturally address a special greeting to the recruits who are officially enlisted in the Corps today, and to their parents who have come here to express their desire to accompany their sons with their love and prayers.

Dear parents, you are entrusting your sons and the petitions of your family to the intercession of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, as well as to that of many other saints. Every true pilgrimage brings us closer to God, the destination of our journey. I hope with all my heart that all of you will experience in these days a true deepening of your faith and your closeness to the Successor of Peter, the visible Head of the universal Church. May the liturgical celebrations and many pleasant encounters help you!

Dear Swiss Guards, the reason for enlisting is very different for each one of you: a taste for adventure, channelled by your wish to do something really different, to the noble desire to serve the Church and the Pope and thereby deepen your faith by coming to Rome. Whatever the reason for your decision, what matters now, here in the Vatican, is to live the spirit of it that can create a true spiritual bond among you.

This spirit of the Swiss Guard is nourished by the glorious, almost five-centuries-old tradition of the life of a small army with great ideals. The ideals that give life to this spirit, without which the Swiss Guard could never be equal to so important a mission, are the following: a sound Catholic faith, a Christian approach to life that is convinced and convincing, unshakeable fidelity and deep love for the Church and for the Vicar of Christ, awareness and perseverance in both the small and important tasks of daily service, courage and humility, empathy and humaneness.

Dear Swiss Guards, the collaboration you offer to the Successor of Peter, Pastor of the universal Church, requires the high professionalism of modern security services, but at the same time has an authentic and significant ecclesial dimension. In the person of the Pope, you serve the whole Church; you make available to her your youthful enthusiasm, vitality and inner freshness.
As I look at you, dear friends, I remember what I said during the liturgical celebration for the inauguration of my Pontificate.: "The Church is alive.... And the Church is young. She holds within herself the future of the world and therefore shows each of us the way towards the future" (L'Osservatore Romano English edition, 27 April 2005, p. 8).

Dear Guards, you can and must be examples and lively witnesses of this. It will be a way of living the vocation of Christians, committed to reflecting in everyday behaviour, the greatness of the new life received in Baptism.

Dear Swiss Guards! As I entrust you, your families, your friends and all those who have come to Rome for the swearing-in ceremony, to the intercession of Mary, the Holy Virgin and Mother of God, and to your Patron Saints, Martin and Sebastian, as well as to the great patron of your beautiful Homeland that lies at the heart of Europe, Brother Nicholas of Flüe, I wholeheartedly impart my Apostolic Blessing to you all.


TO THE BISHOPS OF SRI LANKA ON THEIR "AD LIMINA APOSTOLORUM" VISIT Saturday, 7 May 2005

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Dear Brother Bishops,

1. In these still early days of my Pontificate, I am glad to welcome you, the Pastors of the Church in Sri Lanka, on your visit ad limina Apostolorum - the first to take place since my election. I thank you for the gracious words addressed to me on your behalf by Bishop Joseph Vianney Fernando, President of your Episcopal Conference. You come from a Continent particularly marked by a wealth of cultures, languages and traditions (cf. Ecclesia in Asia ) and you bear witness to the deep faith of your people in Jesus Christ, the sole Redeemer of the world. I pray that your pilgrimage to the tombs of the Apostles Peter and Paul may renew your commitment to serve and proclaim Christ with conviction, so that your people may grow in knowledge and love of him who came so that all "may have life and have it abundantly" (
Jn 10,10).

2. Together with countless others throughout the world, I was deeply disturbed to observe the devastating effects of the tsunami last December, which claimed a vast number of lives in Sri Lanka alone, and left hundreds of thousands homeless. Please accept my profound sympathy and that of Catholics everywhere for all who have endured such terrible losses. In the faces of the bereaved and dispossessed, we cannot fail to recognize the suffering face of Christ, and indeed it is he whom we serve when we show our love and compassion to those in need (cf. Mt 25,40).

The Christian community has a particular obligation to care for those children who have lost their parents as a result of the natural disaster. To these most vulnerable members of society the Kingdom of heaven belongs (cf. Mt 19,14), yet so often they are simply forgotten or shamelessly exploited as soldiers, labourers, or innocent victims in the trafficking of human beings. No effort should be spared to urge civil authorities and the international community to fight these abuses and to offer young children the legal protection they justly deserve.

Even in the darkest moments of our lives, we know that God is never absent. Saint Paul reminds us that "in everything God works for good with those who love him" (Rm 8,28), and this was manifested in the unprecedented generosity of the humanitarian response to the tsunami. I want to commend all of you for the outstanding way in which the Church in Sri Lanka struggled to meet the material, moral, psychological and spiritual needs of the victims. We can recognize further signs of God’s goodness in the partnership and collaboration of so many diverse elements of society in the relief effort. It was heartening to see members of different religious and ethnic groups in Sri Lanka and throughout the global community coming together to show their solidarity towards the afflicted and rediscovering the fraternal bonds that unite them. I am confident that you will find ways of building further on the fruits of this cooperation, especially by ensuring that aid is offered freely to all who are in need.

3. The Church in Sri Lanka is young - a third of the population of your country is under the age of fifteen - and this gives great hope for the future. Religious education in schools must therefore be a high priority. Whatever difficulties you may encounter in this area, do not be deterred from carrying out your responsibility. Seminaries, likewise, require particular attention on the part of the Bishops (Directory for the Pastoral Ministry of Bishops, ), and I urge you to be ever vigilant in maintaining a sound spiritual and theological formation for your seminarians. They need to be inspired to exercise their future apostolate in a way that will attract others to follow Christ - the more holy, the more joyful and the more impassioned they are in their priestly ministry, the more fruitful it will be (cf. Letter of the Holy Father John Paul II to Priests for Holy Thursday 2005, 7). It is gratifying to know that your country is already blessed with a good number of priestly vocations, and I pray that many more young people will recognize and respond to God’s call to give themselves completely for the sake of the Kingdom.

4. To conclude my remarks with you today, I put before you the image of the disciples on the Road to Emmaus, so recently invoked by my beloved predecessor to guide us in this Year of the Eucharist. Christ himself accompanied them on their journey. He opened their eyes to the truth contained in the Scriptures, he rekindled their hope and he revealed himself to them in the breaking of the bread (cf. Mane Nobiscum Domine, 1). He also accompanies you as you lead your people forward along the path of discipleship. Renew your trust in him! Open your hearts to him! Plead with him, in union with the whole Church throughout the world: "Mane nobiscum, Domine".

Entrusting you and your priests, deacons, religious and lay faithful to the intercession of Mary, Woman of the Eucharist, I cordially impart my Apostolic Blessing as a pledge of grace and strength in her Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.



Speeches 2005-13