Dear Friends,

I am happy to have this occasion to meet you, the officers and men of Her Majesty’s Ship “CARDIFF”. I have been informed that you are returning from several months’ patrol in the Indian Ocean and the Persian Gulf. I hope therefore that this visit to Rome and to the Vatican, especially to the tomb of the Apostle Peter, will have a deeply personal and religious significance for each one of you, and will serve as a moment of spiritual refreshment.

The name of your ship reminds me of something I said to the thousands of young people I met at Cardiff during my visit to Great Britain almost exactly four yours ago. "It is in prayer that we come to know God: to detect his presence in our souls, to hear his voice speaking through our consciences, and to treasure his gift to us of personal responsibility for our lives and for our world" .

So I express the hope that throughout your lives you will remember, in good times and in bad, to seek the Lord’s comfort in prayer and to ask for the strength to respond fully to your personal and professional duties.

I would ask you to take my warmest good wishes to the other members of the Ship’s Company and to your families and friends at home. May God bless you always.

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