PILGRIMAGE OF PAUL VI IN THE HOLY LAND

FAREWELL OF POPE PAUL VI
FROM KING HUSSEIN OF JORDAN

6 January 1964

Salem Aleikum!

The time has come for Us to take leave of this blessed land after Our unforgettable pilgrimage. We cannot depart without expressing anew and publicly Our profound gratitude to Your Majesty and to the civil authorities who have done so much to facilitate Our travels and make them fruitful. 

Forever in Our heart We shall bear the consoling memories of this humble visit to the Holy Places, and of the warm welcome extended to Us by the inhabitants of this sacred land. May God reward them, may He wipe away their tears, and grant them peace, prosperity and true happiness. 

In the words which the Apostle Paul used to the Christians of Epheus, in bidding them farewell, We also «commend you to God and to the word of His grace, who is able to build up, and to give the inheritance among all the sanctified» (Act. 20, 23). And, as he wrote to the same Ephesians, We exhort you: «Let all bitterness, and wrath, and indignation, and clamor, and reviling, be removed from you, along with all malice. On the contrary, be kind to one another, and merciful, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has generously forgiven you» (Eph. 4, 31-32). 

And, repeating the apostolic salutation. «Peace be to this land, and to all those who dwell herein», We call down upon you all the richest graces from on high, imparting to you and your loved ones and to all the beloved people of  Jordan Our particular fatherly Apostolic Blessing. Khatar Kum!