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ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS
PIUS XII
TO THE REIGNING PRINCE OF MYSORE*
Monday, 31 July
1939
It is with genuine pleasure that We see in
Our presence so distinguished a member of the reigning house of Mysore in the
person of Your Highness together with your esteemed consort and the Successor to
the Throne and the Princesses.
Well do We know the benevolence His Highness
the Maharaja manifests towards the Catholics of his realm and how they can
always rely, on him for sympathetic understanding and encouragement in all their
religious, educational and charitable undertakings.
Similarly it is not unknown to Us how Your
Highness shares these noble sentiments of the ruling Prince and how you have
given proof thereof on more than one occasion by your deeds.
Today's reception is another evidence and a
confirmation of this fact, which does honour to the wisdom of the rulers of your
country and fills Us and the Catholic subjects of His Highness with happiness
and satisfaction.
Gladly do We avail ourselves of this
significant meeting to ask you upon your return to your distant home to make
yourself the kindly interpreter of Our sincere gratitude to His Highness the
Maharaja. The beautiful musical performance, which Your Highness has just now
rendered by real masters of their art, has been a charming gift to Us out of the
rich treasures of a culture and a people outstanding in the history of mankind,
whose further fortunes we shall follow with deep interest.
While We give Our paternal benediction to the
Catholic members of
this select delegation, We invoke upon all here present, but particularly on
Your Highness and your noble family, on the Ruler of your Country and upon all
the people of the land of Mysore, the protection of the Almighty, and We wish
you out of the fullness of Our heart a peaceful happy future and ever increasing
blessedness.
*Discorsi e Radiomessaggi di Sua Santità Pio XII, I, Primo
anno di Pontificato, 2 marzo 1939 - 1° marzo 1940, pp. 287-288 Tipografia Poliglotta Vaticana.
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