APOSTOLIC PILGRIMAGE
OF HIS HOLINESS PAUL VI
TO WEST ASIA, OCEANIA AND AUSTRALIA

ADDRESS OF THE HOLY FATHER PAUL VI
TO A DELEGATION FROM FORMOSA

Manila, Philippines
Friday, 27 November 1970

Dear Friends, dear Sons and Daughters,

As we come to greet your delegation, We cannot conceal Our A admiration for the spontaneous gesture which has brought you from so far away to meet the humble leader of the Catholic Church.

You have wished that your group should faithfully reflect the population of Formosa, since representatives of its great religious bodies are included in your delegation. We greet you with great joy and We express to you Our good wishes that your country may know concord and prosperity, under the protection of Almighty God. We have come to Eastern Asia as the bearer of an essentially spiritual message; Our desire is that God may be better known and better loved, for in this lies the source of the happiness of mankind.

To Our Catholic sons and daughters who - we know - have come to Manila and are grouped about Our dear brother Cardinal Yti Pin and Our brothers, the bishops of your dioceses, We wish to take the occasion to offer Our encouragement to lead a life worthy of the vocation to which they have been called (Cfr. Eph. 4: 1), in all things bearing witness to their faith, their hope and their love.

With all Our heart We bestow Our Apostolic Blessing on you and on all those whom you represent.