In the Apostolic Letter Tertio Millennio Adveniente, as you know, John Paul II links the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000 to the Second Ecumenical Vatican Council: "a providential event – the Pope writes -, whereby the Church began the more immediate preparation for the Jubilee". And he stresses the dual inseparable aspect of this Council, which was similar though very different to the previous ones: "focused on the mystery of Christ and his Church and at the same time open to the world". In this sense, in this inseparable dual aspect of its historical itinerary, the Council is "a significant contribution to the preparation of that new springtime of Christian life which will be revealed by the Great Jubilee, if Christians are docile to the action of the Holy Spirit".

Also the journeys of the pilgrim Pope are linked to the Council and to the "new springtime", and not only because of the metaphor of the jubilee pilgrimage which they contain. John Paul II makes this explicit connection by recalling Pope John's first travels (Loreto and Assisi), Paul VI's great apostolic journeys and the pilgrimages that have "become systematic" in the first twenty years of his pontificate. On the other hand, in 1979, in Poland, he had explained: "In fact when the entire Church has again become aware of being God's people, a people that shares Christ's mission, a people that spans history with this mission, a pilgrim people, the Pope could not remain a "prisoner of the Vatican". He had to become again the travelling Peter, like the first Peter who went from Jerusalem, through Antioch, to Rome to bear witness to this and seal it with his blood".

John Paul II's "systematic" pilgrimages "focused on the mystery of Christ and his Church and at the same time open to the world", based on the three-year period of preparation for the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000 which he had already defined in his first encyclical "Redemptor Hominis" as a "time of coming", that is, of expectation, of certain hope in the "new springtime". Looking again at some references to the Jubilee along the recent journeys of the pilgrim Pope also reveals – in the various different situations – the historical vocation that is interwoven with the Christian vocation. The characteristic task of this Pontificate stemming from the Council premise: to demolish the walls that divide and to build bridges of reconciliation.

Sarajevo

"Never again war! Never again hatred and intolerance! This is the lesson taught by this century and this millennium which are now drawing to a close. This is the message with which I begin my Pastoral Visit. The inhuman logic of violence must be replaced by the constructive logic of peace".

(Discourse at Sarajevo International Airport)

"After the years of the deplorable fratricidal war, at the approaching dawn of a new Christian millennium, we all feel the urgent need for a new reconciliation between Catholics and Orthodox, so that, with a new heart and a new spirit, it might be possible to resume the journey of an ever more perfect following of Christ, the High Priest and sole Shepherd of his flock".

(To the Serbian Orthodox community)

"The Church, at the end of this millennium and now at the threshold of the next, must continue perseveringly in her mission of proclaiming the Good News, so that "all men will be saved" (1 Tm 2:4). May the three-year period of preparation for the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000 find you zealous in your preaching, according to the programme that I myself have set forth in the Apostolic Letter Tertio Millennio Adveniente.

In following these objectives, you build up the body of Christ (cf. Eph 4:12) in these lands, in communion with the whole Church".

(To the Bishops of Bosnia-Herzegovina)

"From Sarajevo, the city symbolising this 20th century as it draws to a close, may all the peoples of Europe hear the call for a united commitment on the path to peace! May the new millennium now at our doorstep open with a determined resolve to build an era of social growth in harmony, with the contribution of the particular gifts, with which each nation, in the course of its history, has been enriched by God, the Lord and Father of all peoples!".

(Angelus in Kosevo Stadium)

POLAND 31 MARCH – 10 JUNE 1997

From the homily during the solemn Celebration of the Statio Orbis on the esplanade in the centre of Wroclaw. 1 June 1997

"This Congress is part and parcel of the context of the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000. In the programme of spiritual preparation for the Jubilee, this year is dedicated to special contemplation of the Person of Jesus Christ: "Jesus Christ, the one Saviour of the world, yesterday, today and for ever" (Heb 13:8). So could this year have lacked this Eucharistic profession of faith by the whole Church?"

From the homily on the esplanade in Gorzów. 2 June 1997

"On 16 October 1978, the liturgical memorial of St Hedwig of Silesia, during the Conclave after my election, the Primate of the Millennium said to me: "You must now lead the Church into the new millennium". This is the reason why I have come to Poland. I came for the Eucharistic Congress in Wroclaw. I came to go to Gniezno for the celebrations of the Millennium of St Adalbert. I came on these age-old routes to ask for the grace to be able to fulfil the mission which divine Providence perhaps entrusted to me in the words of the great Primate of the Millennium. But, dear friends, the years are passing and you must beg God on your knees that I can succeed".

From John Paul II's prayer at the shrine of Jasna Góra. Czestochowa. 4 June 1997

""O Mother of God, O Blessed Virgin, by God have you been glorified!".

Mother of Jasna Góra and Queen, I come to you today on a pilgrimage of faith to thank you for your ceaseless protection of all the Church and of myself, especially during the 50 years of my priesthood and those of my service in the See of Peter. With great trust I come to this holy place – on the hill of Jasna Góra, so dear to my heart, to cry out once more: Mother of God and our Mother, I thank you for being the guiding Star of the building of a better future for the world, for being the patroness of the attainment of the civilization of love among the members of the human race. Mother, I humble beseech you, surround with your maternal protection the days and years which still separate us from the Year 2000. I entrust to your intercession the preparation for the Great Jubilee of Christianity. Help all the nations of the world to begin the new millennium in union with Christ, the King of the ages".

From the address during the visit to the Shrine of Divine Mercy in Kraków. 7 June 1997

"I come here to commend the concerns of the Church and of humanity to the merciful Christ. On the threshold of the third millennium I come to entrust to him once more my Petrine ministry – "Jesus, I trust in you"!

Once more I ask you to pray for the intentions of the Church and to support me in my ministerium Petrinum. I know that such prayer is always offered here: I thank you for this with all my heart. We all need it so much: tertio millennio adveniente".

From the reflection during the Marian prayer at the end of the Eucharistic Celebration. 8 June 1997

"Listening attentively to Christ's command to foster love of God and of neighbour, we entrust to Mary every effort made to bring this about, as we approach the third millennium - tertio millennio adveniente.

With all my heart I embrace the faithful from all the Polish Dioceses and the sisters and brothers of the Church in Kraków. While the whole Church is getting ready for the Jubilee of the second millennium of Christianity, the Diocese of Kraków is approaching the end of its own first millennium. I know that by means of parish missions and the new visit of parishes by a copy of the picture of Our Lady of Czestochowa you wish to prepare yourselves for this special event. May this preparation produce abundant fruit".

At the Angelus. 15 June 1997

"It was deeply moving for me to return as a pilgrim to the feet of Our Lady of Jasna Góra. To her I entrusted the Church's journey towards the Holy Door of the Jubilee of the Year 2000, and particularly to the horizons which are unfolding for her mission in the third millennium. To her I entrusted the Polish nation and all the nations of Europe, called to build their integration on solid spiritual, cultural and ethical foundations, beginning with their common Christian roots, whose shining example is the figure and work of St Adalbert, commemorated on the 1000th anniversary of his martyrdom. To Mary, I entrusted the commitment of Christians to advancing towards full unity, in accordance with Christ's will and the demands of the new evangelization; I also called on her for reconciliation and peace for all peoples".

CUBA 21-26 JANUARY 1998

From the address during the arrival ceremonies at the "José Martì" international airport in Havana. 21 January 1998

"I come as a pilgrim of love, of truth and of hope, with the desire to give a fresh impulse to the work of evangelization which, in the midst of difficulties, this local Church continues to sustain with apostolic vitality and dynamism, on her way to the third Christian millennium".

From the Message to Cuban young people. 23 January 1998

"Dear young people, the Church trusts in you and she is counting on you. Inspired by the lives of the saints and other witnesses to the Gospel, and guided by the pastoral concern of your Bishops, help one another to grow stronger in faith and to be apostles of the Year 2000. Show the world that Christ is inviting us to share his joy, and that true happiness lies in giving ourselves in love to our brothers and sisters. May the Lord continue to bestow his abundant gifts of peace and enthusiasm upon all the young sons and daughters of the beloved Cuban nation. This is the Pope's great hope and desire for you. I cordially bless you all".

From the discourse at the meeting with Bishops in the Archbishop's residence in Havana. 25 January 1998

"My Pastoral Visit is taking place at a very special moment in the life of the whole Church: the preparation for the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000. As Pastors of this portion of the pilgrim People of God in Cuba you share in the spirit of this preparation, and through your Global Pastoral Plan you have encouraged every community to live "that new springtime of Christian life which will be revealed by the Great Jubilee, if Christians are docile to the action of the Holy Spirit" (Tertio millennio adveniente, n. 18). May the Global Pastoral Plan give continuity to my visit and to an experience of the Church as incarnational, participatory and prophetic as she strives to be at the service of the integral promotion of all Cubans. All of this requires an adequate formation which – as you have said – "should restore man as a person in his human, ethical, civil and religious values and enable him to fulfil his mission in the Church and in society" (II ENEC, Memorial, p. 38). This requires "the creation and the renewal of Dioceses, parishes and small communities which can foster participation and co-responsibility, and which can live out, in solidarity and service, their mission of evangelization" (ibid.)."

From the homily of the Mass celebrated in José Martì Plaza, Havana. 25 January 1998

"The ideological and economic systems succeeding one another in the last two centuries have often encouraged conflict as a method, since their programmes contained the seeds of opposition and disunity. This fact profoundly affected their understanding of man and of his relations with others. Some of these systems also presumed to relegate religion to the merely private sphere, stripping it of any social influence or importance. In this regard, it is helpful to recall that a modern State cannot make atheism or religion one of it political ordinances. The State, while distancing itself from all extremes of fanaticism or secularism, should encourage a harmonious social climate and a suitable legislation which enables every person and every religious confession to live their faith freely, to express that faith in the context of public life and to count on adequate resources and opportunities to bring its spiritual, moral and civic benefits to bear on the life of the nation.

On the other hand, various places are witnessing the resurgence of a certain capitalist neoliberalism which subordinates the human person to blind market forces and conditions the development of peoples on those forces. From its centres of power, such neoliberalism often places unbearable burdens upon the less favoured countries. Hence, at times, unsustainable economic programmes are imposed on nations as a condition for further assistance. In the international community, we thus see a small number of countries growing exceedingly rich at the cost of the increasing impoverishment of a great number of other countries; as a result the wealthy grow ever wealthier, while the poor grow ever poorer".

At the Angelus of 25 January 1998

"Today marks the conclusion of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. The desire to achieve full communion among all believers in Christ is always present in the Church as she continues on her pilgrim way, and is ever more pressing during this year dedicated to the Holy Spirit as we prepare for the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000. Harmony and unity – the object of the Church's hope and, consequently, of humanity's hope as well - are still far off; nonetheless they constitute a gift of the Holy Spirit which we must untiringly seek".

From the departure address at Havana's airport. 25 January 1998

As Successor of the Apostle Peter and following the Lord's, command, I have come as a messenger of truth and hope, to confirm you in faith and to leave you a message of peace and reconciliation in Christ. Therefore I encourage you to continue to walk together, inspired by the highest moral principles, so that the vitality which characterises this noble people will produce abundant fruits of well-being and of spiritual and material prosperity for the benefit of everyone.

Before leaving this capital city, I wish to bid an emotional farewell to all the sons and daughters of this nation: to those who live in the cities and in the countryside; to the children, the young people and the elderly; to the families and each individual person. I am confident that they will continue to preserve and promote the most genuine values of the Cuban heart. Faithful to the heritage received from your forebears and despite difficulties, the Cuban spirit must ever show its trust in God, its Christian faith, its ties to the Church, its love for the culture and traditions of the homeland, its vocation to justice and freedom. In the process of doing precisely this, all Cubans are called to contribute to the common good in a climate of mutual respect and with a profound sense of solidarity.

In our day, no nation can live in isolation. The Cuban people therefore cannot be denied the contacts with other peoples necessary for economic, social and cultural development, especially when the imposed isolation strikes the population indiscriminately, making it ever more difficult for the weakest to enjoy the bare essentials of decent living, things such as food, health and education. All can and should take practical steps to bring about changes in this regard. May nations, and especially those which share the same Christian heritage and the same language, work effectively to extend the benefits of unity and harmony, to join efforts and overcome obstacles so that the Cuban people, as active agents of their own history, may maintain international relations which promote the common good. In this way they will be helped to overcome the suffering caused by material and moral poverty, the roots of which may be found, among other things, in unjust inequalities, in limitations to fundamental freedoms, in depersonalisation and the discouragement of individuals, and in oppressive economic measures - unjust and ethically unacceptable - imposed from outside the country.

From the Holy Father

John Paul II's Message to young people for the 12th World Youth Day

Dear Young People!

I come to you with joy to continue the dialogue, already long, whose fabric we are weaving together on the occasion of the World Youth Day. In communion with the whole people of God on the journey towards the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000, I want to invite you this year to fix your eyes on Jesus, Teacher and Lord of life, with the help of the words recalled in John's Gospel: "Teacher, where are you staying? Come and see" (cf. 1:38, 39).

In all the local Churches, during the coming months, you will be meeting together to reflect, with your Pastors, on these words of the Gospel. Then, in August 1997, together with many of you, we will have the experience of the 12th World Youth Day, celebrated at international level in Paris, at the heart of the continent of Europe. In that metropolis, for centuries a crossroads for people, for art and culture, the young people of France are already preparing, enthusiastically, to welcome their young contemporaries from every corner of the planet. Following the Holy Year Cross, the people of the younger generations who believe in Christ will, once again, become a living icon of the Church in her pilgrimage along the roads of the world. Meeting in prayer and reflection, in the dialogue that unites beyond all difference of language and race, in the sharing of ideals, problems and hopes, these young people will experience living the reality promised by Jesus: "Where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them" (Mt 18:20).

We are living in an era of great changes: the rapid decline of ideologies that seemed to promise a long resistance to the wear and tear of time; the tracing out on the planet of new confines and frontiers. Humanity often finds itself uncertain, bewildered and anxious (cf. Mt 9:36). But the word of God knows no decline; throughout history and among changing events, it remains firm and gives light (cf. Mt 24:35). The faith of the Church is founded on Jesus Christ, the one Saviour of the world, yesterday and today and for ever (cf. Heb 13:8). It gives Christ as reference for an answer to the questions rising up from the human heart in the face of the mystery of life and death. Only from Christ, indeed, can there be answers that do not deceive nor disappoint.

When my thoughts go back to your words, spoken during the unforgettable encounters I have had the joy of experiencing with you on my apostolic journeys to every part of the world, I seem to read in them, with vital urgency, the very question of the disciples: "Teacher, where are you staying?" See that you are able to listen again, in the silence of prayer, to Jesus' answer: "Come and see".

Dear young people, like the first disciples, follow Jesus! Do not be afraid to draw near to him, to cross the threshold of his dwelling, to speak with him, face to face, as you talk with a friend (cf. Ex 33:11). Do not be afraid of the "new life" he is offering. He himself makes it possible for you to receive that life and practise it, with the help of his grace and the gift of his Spirit.

Jesus dwells among the men and women "honoured with the name of Christian" (cf. Lumen Gentium, n. 15). All are able to meet him in the Scriptures, in prayer and in service of their neighbours. On the eve of the third millennium, it is becoming every day a more urgent duty to repair the scandal of the division among Christians, strengthening unity through dialogue, prayer in common and witness. It is not a matter of ignoring differences and problems in the detachment of a lukewarm relativism; that would be like covering the wound without healing it, with the risk of interrupting the journey before reaching the goal of full communion. On the contrary, it is a matter of working - under the guidance of the Holy Spirit - with a view to effective reconciliation, trusting in the efficacy of Jesus' prayer on the eve of his passion: "Father, that they may be one even as we are one" (cf. Jn 17:22). The more you cling to Jesus the more capable you will become of being close to one another; and insofar as you make concrete gestures of reconciliation you will enter into the intimacy of his love.

Jesus dwells especially in your parishes, in the communities in which you live, in the associations and ecclesial movements to which you belong, as well as in many contemporary forms of grouping and apostolate at the service of the new evangelization. This rich variety of charisms is a benefit for the whole Church, and an encouragement for every believer to place his or her capacities at the service of the one Lord, fount of salvation for all humankind.

On 30 September will occur the centenary of the death of St. Thérèse of Lisieux. Hers is a figure that, in her own country, cannot fail to draw the attention of a great many young pilgrims; Therese, precisely, is a young Saint, and her message today is simple and suggestive, brimming over with amazement and gratitude: God is Love; every person is loved by God, who expects to be welcomed and loved by each one. This is a message, young people of today, that you are called to receive and to shout aloud to those of your own age: "Man is loved by God! This very simple yet profound proclamation is owed to humanity by the Church" (cf. Christifideles Laici, n. 34).

From the youth of Therese of the Child Jesus spring forth her enthusiasm for the Lord, the intensity of her love, the realistic daring of her great projects. The charm of her holiness is confirmation that God grants in abundance, even to the young, the treasures of her wisdom.

Walk with her the humble and simple way of Christian maturity, at the school of the Gospel. Stay with her in the "heart" of the Church, living radically the option for Christ.