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Benedict XVI: I come to France bringing a message of peace. Dear brothers and sisters, on Friday I will depart for my first pastoral visit to France as the Successor of Peter. On the eve of my arrival …More
Benedict XVI: I come to France bringing a message of peace.

Dear brothers and sisters, on Friday I will depart for my first pastoral visit to France as the Successor of Peter. On the eve of my arrival, I wish to extend my cordial greetings to the French people and to all the inhabitants of this dear nation. I come to you as a messenger of peace and brotherhood. Your country is not unknown to me. On several occasions I have had the joy to return and appreciate its generous tradition of hospitality and tolerance, as well as the strength of its Christian faith and its high human and spiritual culture.

This time, the opportunity of my coming is the celebration of the hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the apparition of the Virgin Mary in Lourdes. After visiting Paris, the capital of your country, it will be a great joy for me to join the crowds of faithful who come to follow the Jubilee journey in the footsteps of St. Bernadette, until the grotto of Massabielle. My prayer will be intense at the feet of Our Lady with the intentions of the whole Church, especially for the sick, the most disadvantaged people, but also for world peace. May Mary be for all of you, and especially for the young, a Mother who is always attentive to the needs of her children, a light of hope that is able to guide your way!

My dear friends of France, I invite you to join my prayer that this trip will bring forth abundant fruit. In joyful expectation to soon be among you, I invoke upon each of you, your families and your communities, the motherly protection of the Virgin Mary, Our Lady of Lourdes. May God bless you!