ADDRESS OF JOHN PAUL II
TO THE SUPERIORS AND STUDENTS
OF ST MARY'S SEMINARY IN CLEVELAND

Monday, 1 March 1999

Dear Friends in Christ,

I am pleased to welcome the pilgrim group from St Mary Seminary in Cleveland on the occasion of the 150th anniverary of the seminary's foundation. You have come to Rome to visit the places made holy by the Apostles Peter and Paul and by the martyrs and saints of every age who have borne witness here to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

I hope that the prayer and meditation which accompany your pilgrimage will bring you ever nearer to the Lord and strengthen your desire to be worthy priests and generous servants of the saving mysteries entrusted to his Church. May this meeting with the Successor of Peter help you to appreciate more fully the Church's universality and her catholic unity. With affection I commend the whole community of St Mary Seminary to the loving intercession of the holy Mother of God, and I cordially impart my Apostolic Blessing as a pledge of joy and peace in Jesus Christ her Son.