(May 19, 2010) Every week on Wednesday, the Pope holds a public meeting, called the
General Audience, during which pilgrims and tourists who come to Rome have a chance
of seeing and hearing him speak. The Holy Father delivers a spiritual reflection
and greets various groups in their languages, including in English. The General
Audience of May 19 was held in the open in St. Peter’s Square in Rome. It began
with aides taking turns reading a scripture passage in various languages. One of
the aides greeted the Pope on behalf of the English-speaking pilgrims and presented
the various groups to him. Obviously, as he does after every foreign visit, Pope
Benedict XVI spoke about his pilgrimage to Portugal, last week, which centred on the
famous Marian shrine of Fatima. Listen:
Dear
Brothers and Sisters, My Pastoral Visit to Portugal this past week enabled
me to honour Our Lady of Fatima and to pay homage to the distinguished history of
Christian faith and evangelizing zeal of the Portuguese people. The visit began with
a Mass celebrated in the Terreiro do Paço in Lisbon, where I urged Portugal’s Christians
to carry on this great work of evangelization in our own day. The heart of my journey
was my pilgrimage to Fatima for the tenth anniversary of the Beatification of the
shepherd children Francisco and Jacinta. The evening recitation of the Rosary and
the solemn Mass on the anniversary of the first apparition were centred on the message
of Fatima. Our Lady’s exhortation to prayer, penance and conversion is essentially
a summons to hope in God’s merciful love and trust in his saving plan, which triumphs
over the threats and calamities of history. As I give thanks for the blessings of
my pilgrimage, I ask you to join me in asking Our Lady of Fatima to continue, by her
prayers, to guide us on our journey to heaven, to open the hearts of all to God’s
infinite mercy, and to confirm the Church in her perennial mission of proclaiming
before the world the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ. I am pleased to welcome
the English-speaking visitors and pilgrims present at today’s Audience, including
the groups from England, Malaysia and the United States of America. I extend a special
greeting to the students who are here and to the American Patrons of the Vatican Museums.
Commending all of you to the intercession of Our Lady of Fatima, I ask Almighty God
to pour out his blessings upon you.
After greeting other groups in their
languages, Pope Benedict concluded Wednesday’s General Audience with his blessing.