ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS
POPE JOHN PAUL II
ON THE 19th ANNIVERSARY OF
THE DEATH OF POPE PAUL VI

Wednesday, 6 August 1997

Today my thoughts turn first of all to my venerable Predecessor, the Servant of God Paul VI, on the 19th anniversary of his holy death at Castel Gandolfo on 6 August 1978, the Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord.

We remember him with affection and unfailing admiration, considering how providential was the pastoral mission he carried out during the celebration of the Second Vatican Council and the years of its first implementation. All his life he was totally dedicated to the service of the Church, which he loved with all his strength and for which he laboured ceaselessly until the end of his earthly existence.

This morning, as I celebrated Mass for him in the chapel of the Apostolic Palace of Castel Gandolfo, I asked the Lord that the example of such a faithful servant of Christ and of the Church might be an encouragement and an inspiration for us all, called by divine Providence to witness to the Gospel on the threshold of the new millennium.

May Mary, Mother of the Church, of whom we shall continue to speak in today’s catechesis, intercede for us.