To the Stewards of Saint John Neumann

ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS JOHN PAUL II
TO THE "STEWARDS OF SAINT JOHN NEUMANN"
FROM THE ARCHDIOCESE OF PHILADELPHIA

Consistory Hall
Saturday, 5 October 1996

Cardinal Bevilacqua,
Dear Friends,

I am pleased to greet the "Stewards of Saint John Neumann" on the occasion of your pilgrimage to Rome and the Vatican. I deeply appreciate your promise of prayers as I prepare to celebrate my fiftieth anniversary of priestly ordination.

Your association has been established out of a praiseworthy desire to assist the Archbishop of Philadelphia by making available to him the talents and resources of the lay faithful of the Archdiocese. Your patron, Saint John Neumann, was a great missionary Bishop who overcame many daunting challenges in his efforts to provide a firm foundation for the life and growth of the Church in Philadelphia. Today, as the Archdiocese faces new challenges and looks with confidence to the future, your association is committed to providing advice, encouragement and support to the Pastors who carry on that work. In this way you bear witness to the marvelous unity of the Body of Christ, in which each member is called to contribute in a particular way to the welfare of the whole.

Dear friends, I pray that your visit to the tombs of the Apostles Peter and Paul will strengthen you in your love of the Church and your desire to promote her mission of evangelization and service in society. May you always be "good stewards of God's manifold grace" (1 Pt. 4:10). To you and your families I cordially impart my Apostolic Blessing.