Pope Sends Greetings to the People of Great Britain

Pope Benedict today during his Weekly General Audience today in the Paul the VI Hall spoke about his upcoming visit to the United Kingdom in a video message to the people of Great Britain...


With Pope Benedict’s visit to the United Kingdom now just over a week away, the Holy Father took the opportunity to devote a large part of his weekly general audience to this Apostolic Voyage...
From the Paul the VI Hall inside the Vatican the Pope relayed his thoughts about the trip with a video message to the people of Great Britain.
The Pope expressed his deep appreciation for all the work that has gone into the preparations for the visit so far and he especially thanked the many people who have been praying for the success of this journey.
I am aware that a vast amount of work has gone into the preparations for the visit, not only by the Catholic community but by the Government, the local authorities in Scotland, London and Birmingham, the communications media and the security services, and I want to say how much I appreciate the efforts that have been made to ensure that the various events planned will be truly joyful celebrations. Above all I thank the countless people who have been praying for the success of the visit and for a great outpouring of God’s grace upon the Church and the people of your nation.
In the message the Pope also spoke about one event in particular, the beatification of the Venerable John Henry Newman in Birmingham.
It will be a particular joy for me to beatify the Venerable John Henry Newman in Birmingham on Sunday 19 September. This truly great Englishman lived an exemplary priestly life and through his extensive writings made a lasting contribution to Church and society both in his native land and in many other parts of the world.
During this State visit Pope Benedict will meet people from all walks of life from Queen Elizabeth to civil leaders and speaking on Wednesday the Holy Father said he was very much looking forward to these encounters.
I look forward to meeting representatives of the many different religious and cultural traditions that make up the British population, as well as civil and political leaders. I am most grateful to Her Majesty the Queen and to His Grace the Archbishop of Canterbury for receiving me, and I look forward to meeting them. While I regret that there are many places and people I shall not have the opportunity to visit, I want you to know that you are all remembered in my prayers. God bless the people of the United Kingdom!

As always at The Wednesday General Audience the Pope’s reflects on great figures of the Church and this week was no different with the Holy Father returning to the Great Nun and Mystic of the Twelfth century Saint Hildegard of Bingen.

Hildegard’s celebrated visions vividly interpreted the word of God for her contemporaries, calling them to a committed Christian life. She brought a woman’s insight to the mysteries of the faith. In her many works she contemplated the mystic marriage between God and humanity accomplished in the Incarnation, as well as the spousal union of Christ and the Church.

Of the thousands of people gathered in the Paul the VI hall the Holy Father had special greetings in English for the many pilgrims who had come all the way from England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, Sweden, Nigeria, Indonesia, Canada and the US.