Speeches 2005-13 130
130
"Redemptoris Mater" Chapel Saturday, 16 February 2008
Dear Brothers,
At the end of these Spiritual Exercises I would like to say heartfelt thanks to you, Your Eminence, for your spiritual guidance offered with such theological competence and with such spiritual depth. From my line of vision, I have always had before my eyes the image of Jesus on his knees before St Peter to watch his feet. Through your meditations this image has spoken to me. I have seen that exactly here, in this behaviour, in this act of extreme humility, the new priesthood of Jesus in realized. It is fulfilled exactly in the act of solidarity with us, with our weaknesses, our suffering, our trials, even to death. Thus, in a new way, I have also seen Jesus' red garments, which speak to us of his blood. You, Your Eminence, have taught us how Jesus' blood was, because of his prayer, "oxygenated" by the Holy Spirit. And thus it became the power of the Resurrection and the font of life for us.
I could also not fail to meditate deeply on the figure of St Peter. It is the moment when he asked the Lord to wash not only his feet but also his head and hands. It seems to me to express, beyond that moment, the difficulty of St Peter and all the Lord's disciples to understand the surprising novelty of Jesus' priesthood, this priesthood which is precisely abasement, solidarity with us, and thus allows our access to the true sanctuary, Jesus' risen body.
It seems to me that throughout his time of discipleship, even until his own crucifixion, St Peter always had to listen anew to Jesus, to enter more profoundly into the mystery of his priesthood, of Christ's priesthood communicated to the Apostles and their successors.
In this sense the figure of Peter appears to me like the image of all of us in these days. You, Your Eminence, have helped us to listen to the Lord's voice so as to learn anew what his and our priesthood is. You have helped us to enter into participation in Christ's priesthood and therefore also to receive a new heart, Jesus' Heart, as the centre of the mystery of the new covenant.
Thank you for all this, Your Eminence. Your words and meditations will accompany us in this Season of Lent in our journey toward the Lord's Passover. In this sense I wish all of you, dear brothers, a good, spiritually fruitful Lent, so that we can truly reach Easter with an ever deeper participation in our Lord's priesthood.
18028
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
At the end of this morning of common reflection on certain particularly important current aspects of Consecrated Life in our time, I would like first of all to thank the Lord who has given us the opportunity for this meeting, most beneficial for us all. We have been able together to analyse the potentials and expectations, the hopes and difficulties that confront Institutes of Consecrated Life today. I listened with great attention and interest to your testimonies and experiences and I took note of your questions. We are all aware that in our modern globalized society it is becoming increasingly difficult to proclaim and witness to the Gospel. If this applies for all the baptized, it is particularly true for those whom Jesus calls to follow him more radically through religious consecration. Unfortunately, the progressive secularization of contemporary culture does not even spare religious communities.
There is no need, however, to succumb to despair, because despite the many clouds gathering on the horizon of Religious Life, as has been appropriately recalled, signs of a providential reawakening are being seen and indeed are constantly increasing, which give rise to comforting hope. The power of the Holy Spirit's breath is being felt in the Church, inspiring a new commitment to fidelity in the historical Institutes as well as in new forms of religious consecration in tune with the needs of the times. Today, as in every age, there is no lack of generous souls ready to give up everyone and everything to embrace Christ and his Gospel, dedicating to his service their existence in communities characterized by enthusiasm, generosity and joy. What marks these new experiences of Consecrated Life is the common desire and readiness to share in evangelical poverty practised radically, faithful love for the Church, generous dedication to our neighbour in need, with special attention for those forms of spiritual poverty that are a marked feature of our contemporary epoch.
Like my venerable Predecessors, I too have several times wished to reaffirm that people today feel a strong religious and spiritual call, but are only ready to listen and follow someone who witnesses consistently to his or her own attachment to Christ. And it is interesting to note that those same Institutes that have preserved or chosen a tenor of life that is often very austere and which in any case are faithful to the Gospel lived "sine glossa", abound in vocations. I am thinking of the many faithful communities and new experiences of Consecrated Life that you know well. I am thinking of the missionary work of many groups and ecclesial movements in which numerous priestly and religious vocations are born. I am thinking of the young men and women who give up everything to enter cloistered monasteries and convents. It is also true today - and we can say so joyfully - that the Lord is continuing to send workers into his vineyard and to enrich his people with many holy vocations. We thank the Lord for this and pray to him that the enthusiasm of the initial choices - indeed, many young people set out on the path of Gospel perfection and enter new forms of Consecrated Life subsequent to moving conversions - as I was saying, the enthusiasm of the initial decisions may be followed by commitment to persevere in an authentic process of ascetic and spiritual perfection on a journey of true holiness.
With regard to the Orders and Congregations with a long tradition in the Church, we can only note, as you yourselves have stressed, that in the last decades almost all of them, male as well as female, have been through a difficult crisis due to the ageing of members, a more or less pronounced decrease in the number of vocations and sometimes also a spiritual and charismatic "weariness". This crisis in certain cases has even become alarming. Yet side by side with difficult situations, which it is as well to examine with courage and truth, signs of a positive recovery can be recorded, especially when communities have the courage to return to their origins to live more in harmony with the Founder's spirit. In almost all the recent General Chapters of Religious Institutes the recurrent theme has been precisely the rediscovery of the founding charism to be lived and actualized in a renewed manner in the present time. Rediscovering the spirit of the origins, deepening knowledge of the Founder or Foundress, has helped to impress upon Institutes a promising new ascetic, apostolic and missionary impetus. There are long-established works and activities that have thus been revived with new nourishment; there are new initiatives of an authentic actualization of the Founders' charism. It is necessary to continue on this path, praying to the Lord that he will bring to fruition the work he has begun.
On entering the third millennium, my venerable Predecessor, the Servant of God John Paul II, invited the entire Ecclesial Community "to start afresh from Christ" (Apostolic Letter Novo Millennio Ineunte, nn. 29ff.). Yes! Institutes of Consecrated Life also must ceaselessly "start afresh from Christ" if they mean to preserve or rediscover their vitality and apostolic effectiveness. He is the firm rock on which you must build your communities and every project of community and apostolic renewal. Dear brothers and sisters, I warmly thank you for the care you devote to carrying out your responsible service as guides of your Religious Families. The Pope is close to you, encourages you and assures each one of your communities of his daily remembrance in prayer. As we conclude our meeting, I would like once again to greet with affection the Cardinal Secretary of State and Cardinal Franc Rodé, as well as each one of you. I also ask you to convey my greeting to all your confreres and your Sisters, with a special thought for the elderly who have served your Institutes for a long time, for the sick who contribute to the work of redemption with their suffering, and to the young men and women who are the hope of your different Religious Families and of the Church. I entrust you all to the motherly protection of Mary, the sublime model of the Consecrated Life, as I impart a heartfelt Blessing to you all.
Your Excellency,
I am pleased to welcome you at the start of your mission and to accept the Letters accrediting you as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Serbia to the Holy See. I thank you for your kind words and for the greetings you bring from President Boris Tadic. Please convey to him my respectful good wishes on the occasion of his recent re-election, and the assurance of my prayers for all the people of your nation.
The Holy See greatly values its diplomatic links with Serbia, and hopes thereby to offer encouragement to the continuing efforts to build a future of peace, prosperity, reconciliation and peaceful coexistence throughout the region, as Serbia and its neighbours seek to take their proper place within Europe. Few countries in the continent of Europe escaped the ravages of war in the last century, and all can learn from the lessons of the recent past. As you work towards a more secure future, it is vital to remember that the identity and the rich cultural tradition of your nation, as of all European nations, is deeply rooted in the heritage of Christian faith and the Gospel of love. “There is no ordering of the State so just that it can eliminate the need for a service of love” (Deus Caritas Est ). The followers of Christ are called to offer that service of love to all their brothers and sisters without distinction: only in this way can long-standing tensions finally be laid to rest.
Thus it is that, if we choose to live by the values drawn from our Christian roots, we discover the courage to forgive and to accept forgiveness, to be reconciled with our neighbours and to build together a civilization of love in which all are accepted and respected. I know how deeply the Serb people have suffered in the course of recent conflicts and I wish to express my heartfelt concern for them and for the other Balkan nations affected by the sad events of the last decade. The Holy See shares your earnest desire that the peace which has been achieved will bring lasting stability to the region. In particular, with regard to the current crisis in Kosovo, I call upon all interested parties to act with prudence and moderation, and to seek solutions that favour mutual respect and reconciliation.
Not least among the various divisions between the peoples of Europe are those resulting from the tragic loss of Christian unity over the past thousand years. I rejoice in the progress that has been made in relations between Orthodox and Catholic Christians, and I am especially grateful to the Serbian Orthodox Church for graciously hosting the 2006 meeting of the mixed commission for theological dialogue between Catholics and Orthodox, with the active support of senior members of your Government. Indeed there have been many hopeful developments in this area, encouraged by the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, including the recent joint initiatives between the Pontifical Lateran University and the Orthodox Theology Faculty of the Patriarchate of Serbia in Belgrade, to which Your Excellency has made reference. I earnestly hope that these positive developments will continue to bear fruit, in particular through joint exploration of Christian social doctrine, and in this regard I gratefully recall the welcome accorded to Cardinal Renato Martino, President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, on his recent visit to the Orthodox Theology Faculty.
Serbia’s geographical location on the border between Eastern and Western Christianity gives her a unique opportunity to promote ecumenical dialogue, while her familiarity with Islam, both through her encounter with the Ottoman Empire and through the presence of many Muslims in the region today, opens up rich possibilities for progress in inter-religious dialogue. Both of these processes are of the utmost importance in establishing greater mutual understanding and respect between peoples and nations in the modern world. Be assured that the Catholic Church in Serbia is eager to build further on its good relations with the Holy Synod and to play its part in joint initiatives designed to foster Christian unity and a genuine rapprochement between the adherents of different religions, contributing in this way to the building of peace and harmony within and between nations.
Freedom of religion is an indispensable element in building the kind of society in which such harmony can develop, and the steps taken by Serbia in recent years to guarantee this fundamental human right are greatly appreciated. The plan to restore to Churches and religious communities property which had been nationalized by the Yugoslav Federation and the introduction of religious teaching in schools have contributed to the spiritual renewal of your country, and in this regard an important example has been given from which other governments can learn. I pray that this openness to religious values in society will continue to grow, so that public debate may be truly nourished by the principles derived from faith. As I indicated in the lecture that I prepared recently for “La Sapienza” University in Rome (17 January 2008), if reason “becomes deaf to the great message that comes to it from Christian faith and wisdom, then it withers like a tree whose roots can no longer reach the waters that give it life.” Without the nourishment that comes from living faith, culture is deeply impoverished and prospects for a truly humane civilization rapidly recede.
Your Excellency, I pray that the diplomatic mission which you begin today will further strengthen the good relations that exist between the Holy See and your country. I assure you that the various departments of the Roman Curia are always ready to offer help and support in the fulfilment of your duties. With my sincere good wishes, I invoke upon you, your family, and all the people of Serbia, God’s abundant blessings.
Dear Fathers of the General Congregation of the Society of Jesus,
I am pleased to welcome you today as your demanding work is reaching its conclusion. I thank the new Superior General, Fr Adolfo Nicolás, for expressing your sentiments and your commitment to respond to the expectations that the Church has of you. I spoke to you of this in the Message I addressed to Rev. Fr Kolvenbach and - through him - to the entire Congregation at the beginning of its work. I once again thank Fr Peter-Hans Kolvenbach for the valuable service he has rendered to your Order in governing it for almost a quarter of a century. I also greet the members of the new General Council and the Assistants who will help the Superior General in his most delicate task as the religious and apostolic guide of your entire Society.
Your Congregation is being held during a period of great social, economic and political change; of conspicuous ethical, cultural and environmental problems, of conflicts of all kinds; yet also of more intense communication between peoples, of new possibilities for knowledge and dialogue, of profound aspirations for peace. These are situations that deeply challenge the Catholic Church and her capacity for proclaiming to our contemporaries the word of hope and salvation. I therefore ardently hope that thanks to the results of your Congregation the entire Society of Jesus will be able to live out with renewed dynamism and fervour the mission for which the Spirit willed it in the Church and has preserved it for more than four and a half centuries with extraordinary apostolic fruitfulness. Today, in the ecclesial and social context that marks the beginning of this millennium, I would like to encourage you and your confreres to continue on the path of this mission in full fidelity to your original charism. As my Predecessors have said to you on various occasions, the Church needs you, relies on you and continues to turn to you with trust, particularly to reach those physical and spiritual places which others do not reach or have difficulty in reaching. Paul VI's words remain engraved on your hearts: "Wherever in the Church, even in the most difficult and extreme fields, at the crossroads of ideologies, in the social trenches, there has been and there is confrontation between the burning exigencies of man and the perennial message of the Gospel, here also there have been, and there are, Jesuits" (Address to the 32nd General Congregation of the Jesuits, 3 December 1974; ORE, 12 December, n. 2P 4).
As the Formula of your Institute says, the Society of Jesus was founded in the first place "for the defence and propagation of the faith". In an age when new geographical horizons were unfolding, Ignatius' first companions placed themselves at the Pope's disposal so that "he might use them wherever he deemed it would be for the greater glory of God and the benefit of souls" (Autobiography, n. 85). Thus, they were sent to proclaim the Lord to peoples and cultures that did not yet know him. They did so with a courage and zeal that have lived on to our day as an exemplary inspiration. The name of Francis Xavier is the most famous of all, but how many others one could give! The new peoples, who do not know the Lord or who do not know him well so that they cannot recognize him as the Saviour, are distant today not so much from the geographical as rather from the cultural viewpoint. It is not oceans or immense distances that challenge the heralds of the Gospel but the boundaries resulting from an erroneous or superficial vision of God and man that stand between faith and human knowledge, faith and modern science, faith and the commitment to justice.
The Church thus urgently needs people with a deep and sound faith, a well-grounded culture and genuine human and social sensitivity, of Religious and priests who dedicate their lives to being on these very frontiers to bear witness and to help people understand that on the contrary there is profound harmony between faith and reason, between the Gospel spirit, the thirst for justice and initiatives for peace. Only in this way will it be possible to make the Lord's true Face known to the many for whom he is still concealed or unrecognizable. The Society of Jesus should therefore give preferential attention to this. Faithful to its best tradition, it must persevere in taking great pains to form its members in knowledge and virtue and not to be content with mediocrity, since confrontation and dialogue with the very different social and cultural contexts and the diverse mentalities of today's world is one of the most difficult and demanding tasks. This quest for quality and for human, spiritual and cultural validity must also characterize the whole of the Jesuits' many-facetted formative and educative activities as they come into contact with people of every sort wherever they may happen to be.
In its history, the Society of Jesus has lived extraordinary experiences of proclamation and encounter between the Gospel and world cultures - it suffices to think of Matteo Ricci in China, Roberto De Nobili in India or of the "Reductions" in Latin America. And you are rightly proud of them. I feel it is my duty today to urge you to set out once again in the tracks of your predecessors with the same courage and intelligence, but also with an equally profound motivation of faith and enthusiasm to serve the Lord and his Church. However, while you seek to recognize the signs of God's presence and work in every corner of the world, even beyond the bounds of the visible Church, while you strive to build bridges of understanding and dialogue with those who do not belong to the Church or have difficulty in accepting her outlook or messages, at the same time you must loyally take on the Church's fundamental duty to remain faithful to her mandate and to adhere totally to the Word of God and to the Magisterium's task of preserving the integral truth and unity of Catholic doctrine. This not only applies to the personal commitment of individual Jesuits: since you are working as members of an apostolic body, you must also take care that your work and institutions always maintain a clear and explicit identity, so that the goal of your apostolic activity is neither ambiguous nor obscure and that many others may share in your ideals and join you effectively and enthusiastically, collaborating in your commitment to serve God and man.
As you are well aware, since in the Spiritual Exercises you have often undertaken meditation on "the two flags" under St Ignatius' guidance, our world is the theatre of a battle between good and evil where powerful negative forces are at work. These are what cause the dramatic situations of spiritual and material enslavement of our contemporaries which you have several times declared you wished to combat, committing yourselves to the service of faith and the promotion of justice. These forces are manifest today in many ways but are especially evident in such overriding cultural trends as subjectivism, relativism, hedonism and practical materialism. This is the reason why I asked you for a renewed commitment to promoting and defending Catholic doctrine, "especially... its key points, under severe attack today by the secular culture" (Letter to Fr Kolvenbach, 10 January 2008), of which I gave some examples in my Letter. The themes, continuously discussed and called into question today, of the salvation of all humanity in Christ, of sexual morality, of marriage and the family, must be explored and illumined in the context of contemporary reality but preserving that harmony with the Magisterium which avoids causing confusion and dismay among the People of God.
I know and understand well that this is a particularly sensitive and demanding point for you and for some of your confreres, especially those involved in theological research, interreligious dialogue and dialogue with contemporary cultures. For this very reason I have invited you and also invite you today to reflect in order to rediscover the fullest meaning of your characteristic "fourth vow" of obedience to the Successor of Peter, which does not only involve the readiness to be sent on mission to distant lands but also - in the most genuine Ignatian spirit of "feeling with the Church and in the Church" - "to love and serve" the Vicar of Christ on earth with that "effective and affective devotion" which must make you his invaluable and irreplaceable collaborators in his service for the universal Church.
At the same time, I encourage you to continue and to renew your mission among the poor and with the poor. Unfortunately, new causes of poverty and marginalization are not absent in a world marked by grave financial and environmental imbalances, from globalization processes prompted by selfishness rather than solidarity and by devastating and senseless armed conflicts. As I was able to reaffirm to the Latin American Bishops gathered at the Shrine of Aparecida, "the preferential option for the poor is implicit in the Christological faith in the God who became poor for us, so as to enrich us with his poverty (cf. II Cor 8: 9)". It is therefore natural that those who truly want to be a companion of Jesus really share in his love for the poor. For us, the option for the poor is not ideological but is born from the Gospel. Situations of injustice and poverty in today's world are numerous and tragic, and if it is necessary to seek to understand them and fight their structural causes, it is also necessary to penetrate to the very heart of man, to extirpate the deep roots of evil and sin that cut him off from God, without forgetting to meet people's most urgent needs in the spirit of Christ's charity. Gathering and developing one of Fr Arrupe's last far-sighted intuitions, your Society continues to do praiseworthy work in the service for refugees, who are often the poorest of the poor and in need not only of material aid but also of the deeper spiritual, human and psychological closeness that is very much a part of your service.
Lastly, I ask you to focus special attention on that ministry of Spiritual Exercises which has been a characteristic feature of your Society from the outset. The Exercises are not only the source of your spirituality and the matrix of your Constitutions but also a gift which the Spirit of the Lord has made to the entire Church. It is your task to continue to make them a valuable and effective means for the spiritual growth of souls, for their initiation to prayer, to meditation in this secularized world where God seems to be absent. Only last week I myself benefited from the Spiritual Exercises, together with my closest collaborators of the Roman Curia, under the guidance of a distinguished confrere of yours, Cardinal Albert Vanhoye. In a time like ours when the confusion and multiplicity of messages and the speed of changes and situations makes it particularly difficult for our contemporaries to put order into their lives and respond with determination and joy to the call the Lord addresses to each one of us, the Spiritual Exercises are a particularly precious means and method with which to seek God, within us, around us and in all things, to know his will and to put it into practice.
In this spirit of obedience to God's will, to Jesus Christ, which also becomes humble obedience to the Church, I ask you to continue carrying out your Congregation's work and I join you in the prayer St Ignatius taught us at the end of the Exercises - a prayer which to me always seems too sublime in the sense that I hardly dare to say it, yet we must always be able to return to it: "Lord Jesus Christ, take all my freedom. My memory, my understanding and my will. All that I have and cherish you have given me. I surrender it all to be guided by your will. Your grace and your love are wealth enough for me. Give me these, Lord Jesus, and I ask for nothing more" (n. 234).
Dear Members of the Circle of St Peter,
I am pleased to meet you again this year on the occasion of the Feast of the Chair of St Peter: thank you for your visit. I cordially greet you all and extend my greeting to your families, your loved ones and those who cooperate in the different activities that you coordinate. I greet your Spiritual Director, Mons. Franco Camaldo, and your General President, Duke Leopoldo Torlonia, whom I thank for the words with which he has interpreted the sentiments of all here present. He has also briefly illustrated for me what your well-known and praiseworthy association does.
Who does not know about the Circle of St Peter? Yours is a sodality that has ancient origins and is always distinguished by unconditional fidelity to the Church and her universal Pastor, the Roman Pontiff. The service rendered by the Circle constitutes, in its various articulations, a much-appreciated apostolate, and offers a continuous testimony of love that you nourish towards the Church and in particular towards the Holy See. I am thinking of your presence in the Vatican Basilica and the duty to keep order during the Celebrations over which I preside; I am thinking of your formational and spiritual meetings that tend to arouse within you a constant drive toward holiness; I am thinking of your assistance and charitable work that you carry out with generosity.
Thank you for your collaboration and for the many initiatives that you promote in a Gospel spirit and an ecclesial sense. We could almost say that what you do, in a certain way, is done in the name of the Pope himself. For example, it is in his name that you are concerned with meeting, as far as possible, the needs of the great many poor who live in the city of Rome, whose Bishop is the Successor of Peter. You thus wish to be his arms and his heart that reach out, also through you, to those who are struggling in precarious situations. And I know that in the course of these past years, you have multiplied your efforts in order to respond, with generous and demanding charitable initiatives, to the exegencies of these people in need.
I thank you for your collaboration: operating with admirable apostolic zeal, you give a silent yet eloquent witness to the Gospel. Responding to the command of Christ, you seek to see and serve in each person the same Jesus who in the Gospel assures us: "Every time that you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me (cf. Mt 25,40). The faith and love we nourish for him, the Lord calls us to translate into daily gestures of care for the people we encounter, especially those experiencing moments of trial, so that in the face of each person, even more of those in need, the Face of Christ may shine forth. In the Encyclical Spe Salvi,I wrote that "to accept the "other' who suffers, means that I take up his suffering in such a way that it becomes mine also. Because it has now become a shared suffering, though, in which another person is present, this suffering is penetrated by the light of love" (n. 38). In such a way you become messengers and witnesses of the Gospel of love, achieving an authentic and widespread network of evangelization.
Dear friends, there is another reason why I want to thank you. Today, too, in fact, as every year, you come to consign to me St Peter's Pence that you yourselves have been occupied with collecting here in Rome. It represents a concrete help offered to the Pope so that he can respond to the many requests sent to him from every part of the world, especially from the poorest countries. Thank you, therefore, for this service of yours that you carry out with such generosity in a spirit of sacrifice. May the Blessed Virgin, who during this Lenten Season we contemplate in association with the Passion of Christ, help and sustain you in every good endeavour and project. For my part, I assure you of a special remembrance in prayer, while with affection I impart to you the Apostolic Blessing, which I willingly extend to your families and loved ones.
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
I address my cordial greeting to all those present. In the first place, I greet Cardinal Angelo Comastri, Archpriest of St Peter's Basilica, and Cardinal Giovanni Lajolo, President of the Governorate. Next I greet Patriarch Nersčs Bédros XIX, whom I thank for the kind words with which he has conveyed your common sentiments. I extend my thought to the Archbishops, Bishops and religious personages of the entire Armenian Catholic Church. I also greet the political figures, the delegations and those who have wished to take part in this meaningful ceremony, during which I will bless the toponymic plaque of this courtyard. I gladly welcome today's event to embrace the Apostolic Armenian Church with fraternal love, as I do the Armenian Nation and all Armenians worldwide.
This is certainly a providential circumstance that offers us the opportunity to meet here, next to the tomb of the Apostle Peter, to remember another great Saint to whom, in this moment, this courtyard is dedicated. I am pleased to recall that my venerable Predecessor John Paul II blessed the statue of St Gregory the Illuminator, placed exactly here, just a few months before his death. This great Saint, more than 17 centuries ago, made the Armenians a Christian People, rather, the first People to officially be Christian. The conversion of the Armenians is an event that has profoundly marked Armenian identity, not only on a personal level but for the entire Nation. The term "Illuminator", with which this Saint, so dear to you, is called, highlights the dual function that St Gregory played in the history of Armenia's conversion. "Illuminator", in fact, is a term in Christian usage used to indicate the passage from darkness to the light of Christ. And truly, Christ is precisely the great Illuminator who radiates his light on the entire lives of those who accept him and follow him faithfully. Now, St Gregory was called the Illuminator precisely because in him the Face of the Saviour was reflected in an extraordinary way. The word "illumination" also bears an ulterior meaning in Armenian usage. It indicates the light that comes from the diffusion of culture through teaching. And this immediately makes one think of those monk-teachers who, following in the footsteps of St Gregory, continued preaching, thus spreading the light of Gospel truth that reveals to man the truth about his own being and unfolds his potential cultural and spiritual wealth.
Dear brothers and sisters, once again, thank you for having taken part in our encounter. Inaugurating the "St Gregory the Illuminator Courtyard", we pray that the Armenian People, through the intercession of their illustrious and worthy son, continue to walk in the ways of faith, allowing themselves to be guided, as done throughout the centuries, by Christ and his Gospel, which has marked their culture in an indelible way. With this hope, which I entrust to the intercession of the Virgin Mary, I impart my Blessing to all.
131
Speeches 2005-13 130