2010-06-30 13:26:24

Pope's general audience of June 30


(June 30, 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 the last day of June 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. Pope Benedict then delivered this discourse in English.
 Listen:RealAudioMP3
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
In these days we celebrate the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the death of a great model of priestly holiness and apostolic zeal, Saint Joseph Cafasso, a priest of Turin, Italy, in the nineteenth century. Saint Joseph devoted his entire ministry to the formation of priests, spiritual direction and service to the poor, especially prisoners condemned to death. May his example encourage all priests in faithful witness to the Gospel.
Yesterday, on the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, I conferred the Pallium upon thirty-eight Archbishops from throughout the world. I would now like to greet the English-speaking Archbishops present at today’s Audience, together with their family members and the pilgrimage groups which accompanied them to the Tombs of the Apostles:
Archbishop Alex Thomas Kaliyanil of Bulawayo (Zimbabwe),
Archbishop Gerard Tlali Lerotholi of Maseru (Lesotho),
Archbishop Socrates Villegas of Lingayen-Dagupan (Philippines),
Archbishop Bernard Longley of Birmingham (England),
Archbishop Jerome Edward Listecki of Milwaukee (USA),
Archbishop Stephen Brislin of Cape Town (South Africa),
Archbishop Dennis Schnurr of Cincinnati (USA),
Archbishop Francis Kallarakal of Verapoly (India),
Archbishop Hyginus Kim Hee-joong of Kwangju (Korea),
Archbishop Thomas Wenski of Miami (USA),
Archbishop Peter Smith of Southwark (England),
and Archbishop Matthias Kobena Nketsiah of Cape Coast (Ghana).
Dear Brothers, I ask the Lord to strengthen all of you in your witness to the apostolic faith and in generous service to the flocks entrusted to your care.
I also greet the many other English-speaking visitors and pilgrims present at today’s Audience, especially the groups from England, Scotland, Ireland, Ghana, Palestine, the Philippines, South Korea, Canada and the United States of America. I thank the Schola Cantorum of Saint Peter’s Cathedral, Belfast, for their praise of God in song. Upon all of you I invoke an abundance of joy and peace in our Lord Jesus Christ.







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