Dear Friends,

It is a pleasure for me to welcome you today to the Vatican. I am likewise pleased to be informed of your activities and your goals, and of the spirit that unites you in the association FADICA (Foundation and Donors Interested in Catholic Activities).

You do well to look upon your heritage as closely related to principles long expressed in the traditions of the Church. Many of these principles were emphasised by the Second Vatican Council and are now a source of inspiration to you in your common initiatives. Among these are the principles of shared responsibility for the Gospel, the commitment of the laity, the ordering of all temporal activity to the glory of God, the promotion of the common good, the importance of service to the Church and of service in the Church to the world, and the need to bring the uplifting message of the Gospel into every sphere of human life.

It was fitting that this conciliar vision shared by a number of individuals should begin to give rise to a permanent organisation in 1975, during the Holy Year of Renewal and Reconciliation. Subsequently your association has enabled you to span a vast gamut of undertakings including fraternal assistance, charitable endeavors and various initiatives in favor of the poor and the needy. In your undertakings you have striven to share your views and experiences and to collaborate in a systematic and organised way to achieve your end.

The Church notes with great satisfaction your interest in her own activities, whether they be at the level of the parish, the diocese, the nation or the Church universal. The Holy See is very grateful for the concern of your association to make philanthropy more effective in assisting the Catholic Church to carry out her mission, and today I willingly give expression to this gratitude.

At the same time I would encourage you not only in your individual achievements – and I know that the list is long – but also to maintain that spirit of unity and collaboration which gives you added possibilities of generous service.

All of your worthy humanitarian activities and programs are immensely ennobled by your faith in Jesus Christ and by the virtue of supernatural charity that the Holy Spirit infuses into your hearts. Your faith and charity are constant incentives for you not only to persevere in rendering service to humanity but also to discover with ever new creativity what you can do for the Church and for the world.

As lay people in the Church you are concerned with the right ordering and just management of temporal affairs. But this vocation of yours is at the very heart of the mystery of Christ, who saves and uplifts humanity and who is alive in you and desires to love and serve through you.

Dear friends: on this occasion, as you gather in Rome to reflect on your activities and your possibilities for service, and even more on your Christian vocation, be conscious of the great challenge of Saint Paul "Whatever you do... do it in the name of the Lord Jesus. Give thanks to God the Father through him" .

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