In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Peace be with you!

Madam Prime Minister,
Your Excellencies,
Dear friends,
Welcome! Welcome to the Vatican!

I am happy to greet all of you on the occasion of your pilgrimage during this Jubilee Year, especially since it occurs on the one hundredth anniversary of the very first official Latvian pilgrimage to Rome.

It is very good to see that you are keeping this tradition of pilgrimage alive and following in the footsteps of your forebears in the faith. I wish to express my gratitude for your presence here this morning, for Rome has always been a home for all Christians, since it is here that the great Apostles Peter and Paul gave the supreme witness to the Gospel by becoming martyrs for the faith. It is my prayer that you may draw inspiration from them and from the other sites of the saints in Rome. All of them demonstrated that hope does not disappoint despite the uncertainty of their circumstances and the challenges they faced (cf. Spes Non Confundit, 1).

As you know, Pope Francis visited Latvia in 2018, on the centenary of your nation’s independence and spoke of the difficulties your country experienced in the past. While the current conflict in your region may evoke memories of those turbulent times, it is important for all of us to turn to God and to be strengthened by God’s grace when faced with such tribulation.

Hope, which is the central theme of this year’s Jubilee, does not mean having all the answers but rather it calls us to put our trust in God and to follow Christ more closely. In his speech at the Presidential Palace, Pope Francis spoke about the vital role the Christian faith played in your country’s history and even quoted Zenta Maurina, who wrote that your roots “are in heaven”. For this reason, I am grateful that the ties between Latvia and the Holy See have grown closer over the last few years. Indeed, I am especially glad that your Prime Minister is present here today, whom I warmly great.

While we are encouraged by hope, at the same time, we need to unite it with the virtue of faith in order to keep our eyes on the present and see the many ways that God is blessing us here and now. In this regard, a pilgrimage has an important role in our life of faith for it gives us the time and space to encounter God more deeply. It takes us away from the routine and noise of everyday life and offers the space and silence to hear God’s voice more clearly. I therefore encourage you to use this opportunity for prayer and open yourselves to God’s grace, so that it may strengthen your faith and bestow upon you the peace that the world cannot give (cf. Jn 14:27).

Finally, as all of you return to your beloved homeland, please remember that a pilgrimage does not end but its seeds should take root in your daily discipleship and bear fruit in your lives (cf. Jn 15:16). In this way, the Church in Latvia will surely continue to be a source of joy and hope to all Latvians.

So my dear friends, with these few words, and entrusting you to the intercession of Mary, Mother of the Church, I gladly impart to each of you and to all your loved ones, especially the sick, the elderly, the children, my heartfelt blessing, placing your lives in the hands of God.Thank you very much.