To the General Inspectorate of Public Security, John Paul II, 22 January 1979

ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS JOHN PAUL II
TO THE GENERAL INSPECTORATE OF
THE ITALIAN PUBLIC SECURITY FORCE
ASSIGNED TO THE VATICAN

Monday, 22 January 1979

Gentlemen,

You, too, have wished to come to the Pope, to present to him your affectionate wishes for the new year just started.

I address to each of you my sincere and cordial greeting, which I extend also to your respective families. I express to all my grateful appreciation for this visit and for your kind wishes.

I wish to thank the Chief Inspector also for his courteous words, with which he expressed your sentiments.

I am glad to have this first meeting with you, whose task it is to safeguard public order in the vicinity of the Vatican.

The task you carry out with care and solicitude is certainly an important and delicate one. It calls for a deep sense of responsibility and an attitude of complete dedication to duty. It also demands will power and commitment to an ideal, in humble and unspectacular work, which is not always fully appreciated by the public, but is so advantageous for the good of the community.

I take the opportunity to exhort you in a fatherly way always to be equal to your task, and to meet the trust placed in you.

May your stay at the centre of Christianity—where immense and continuous crowds flock to receive light for the intellect and consolation in the events of life—may the fact of carrying out your work not far from the Vicar of Christ, who, by divine mandate, is the "foundation of the Church" and "Teacher of truth", help you to deepen your Christian faith more and more, and commit you to an exemplary life. I hope that your convictions and consistency will bring you joy and consolation in carrying out your duty.

I assure you I will remember you particularly in prayer: may the Lord be near you in your toils and responsibilities. And may the Blessed Virgin assist you and accompany you always.

While I invoke on you and your families the choicest heavenly gifts in abundance, I willingly impart to you and your dear ones the Apostolic Blessing.