Dear Brothers and Sisters!
1. At the end of this solemn celebration, we turn to Blessed
Mary and entrust to her the fruits of the Jubilee of the Diocese of Rome. We ask
her, Salvation of the Roman People, that everyone who lives in Rome may
nurture a strong faith and a sincere love for Jesus, the only Saviour of the
world. We ask her, Our Lady of Divine Love, that Christian spouses may be
faithful to the grace of Marriage and that families may grow in unity and
openness to life. To her, Our Lady of Trust, we entrust the young people
of Rome, so that they may joyfully discover that life is a vocation and is
fulfilled through giving oneself to God and to one's brothers and sisters.
2. I also call upon Mary Most Holy for her help in the
forthcoming Jubilee events: the Jubilee of Migrants and Itinerant People,
which will be held from Thursday, 1 June, to Saturday, 3 June, and the
Jubilee of Journalists on Sunday, 4 June, which will give me the
opportunity to meet many people who work in this important field.
Looking a little ahead, I would like to recall the
International Eucharistic Congress, which will begin on 18 June and
close on 25 June with a great evening celebration in this square. I now
invite Romans to take part in large numbers, with the particular hope of
seeing the many boys and girls who will make their First Communion.
3. To Our Lady I entrust you, the pilgrims present here, and
especially the participants in the Italian Red Cross assembly, whom I
encourage in their efforts on behalf of the weakest and most forgotten. I
also greet the children who have started the ·March of the Angelsº in Deruta,
near Perugia. The month of May is drawing to a close and will end on the
31st with the liturgical feast of the Visitation, which recalls
Mary's visit to her cousin Elizabeth. On that day there will be Marian
celebrations more or less everywhere, and the now traditional evening
procession to the Lourdes Grotto will also be held in the Vatican.
At Lourdes, as at Fátima, the Mother of God addressed the
same message to mankind: prayer and penance, a direct echo of the
Gospel exhortation: watch and pray! Only in this way will peace
triumph in hearts: between individuals and among peoples. Let us all, adults,
young people, children and the elderly, answer the heavenly Mother's call,
so that the fruits of the Great Jubilee will be multiplied in Rome and in
every part of the world.
The Holy Father greeted pilgrims from Poland and Ukraine
and then said extemporaneously:
I thank everyone, the Cardinal Vicar, the Auxiliary Bishops,
the priests and all the faithful of the Diocese of Rome. Thank you for
coming in such large numbers. Thank you for the gift you have given me.
Thank you for your presence.
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