Private audience for the communities of Spain and Ivrea December 7, 1986

St. John Paul II

Vatican, Clementine Hall, December 7, 1986 *

The Pope received this morning in a private audience members of the Neocatechumenal Communities from 5 parishes in Spain and one from Ivrea who are making a pilgrimage to the Tomb of Saint Peter and the Holy House of Loreto. Here is the Pope’s speech:

«It is a matter of special joy to meet you, brothers and sisters of the Neocatechumenal Communities, who have come to confess your Christian faith, to proclaim the faith, and that by visiting Rome you make a profession of catholicity, of universality before the Successor of Peter in this important step of your Neocatechumenal Way: a pilgrimage to the center of Christianity in the middle of the 20th century, a sign of your desire for union and fidelity to the Church of Christ. A visit to the Mother could not be missing in your itinerary: that is why you will place at the feet of the Blessed Mother your hopes and your apostolic desires so that by her intercession, her Divine Son may truly make fruitful your witness of prayer, sacrifice, charity, and service to the brothers. I wish to encourage you in your journey announcing the Good News of the Kingdom so that you may be bearers of the message of hope. I repeat to you the exhortation of Saint Peter: “Always be ready to give reason of your hope to everyone who asks it of you.” May this liturgical period we are living be an anticipation for the coming of the Redeemer, the one who is the bearer of peace that the world cannot give. In my prayers I entrust you to Mary, a model of hope, so that your generous evangelical service, in full communion with the Pastors of the Church, produces great fruits of Christian life. I bless you with all my heart: elders and children, brothers and sisters, everyone. In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. »

(*) Cfr. «L’Osservatore Romano», 9-10 dicembre 1986.

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