ADDRESS OF THE HOLY FATHER JOHN PAUL II 
TO THE NATIONAL JUBILEE PILGRIMAGE OF SENEGAL 
AND TO A GROUP OF SWISS MUSICIANS 

Saturday, 2 September 2000

1. Dear brothers and sisters of Senegal, I welcome you with great joy as members of Senegal's national pilgrimage to Rome during this Great Jubilee Year. In particular, I greet Bishop Maixent Coly of Ziguinchor, who is accompanying your group. I would be grateful if he would convey my affectionate greeting  to dear Cardinal Hyacinthe Thiandoum, Archbishop emeritus of Dakar.

The pilgrimage you are making is a privileged opportunity to meet Christ fully, the Saviour who became incarnate in Mary's womb 2,000 years ago. In him, the source of divine life for humanity, the history of salvation finds its culmination and complete meaning. May your Jubilee journey enable you to renew your faith in the presence of the Lord Jesus, especially his Eucharistic presence in our world and in our lives! In fact, "in the sign of the consecrated Bread and Wine, Christ Jesus risen and glorified, the light of the nations, reveals the enduring reality of his Incarnation. He remains living and real in our midst in order to nourish the faithful with his Body and Blood" (Bull Incarnationis mysterium, n. 11). May the Eucharist always be the centre of your lives:  love it, adore it and celebrate it with respect and faith!

In this world, which has great need of peace and brotherhood, live the Eucharist by bearing fervent witness that no one is excluded from God's love! May your Christian communities be authentic signs of ecclesial communion, unity and reconciliation among all people!

The celebration of the Great Jubilee is also a pressing appeal to conversion of heart and to a renewed commitment to developing a true culture of brotherhood and solidarity. I invite you, in collaboration with all your compatriots, to continue your courageous efforts to put an end to the sources of violence, resentment and injustice which contribute to keeping too many men and women in a state of poverty and exclusion.

Dear brothers and sisters, allow me to address more specifically the youth of your communities. Do not be resigned to a world in which human dignity is not respected, in which violence and injustice prevent full human development! Devote all your energies to making this earth more and more human and fraternal. Entrust yourselves to Christ; have confidence in him as he does in you; he will lead you to the truth and give you his strength!

I entrust you all to the motherly intercession of Our Lady of Poponguine, whom you like to invoke with the name of Our Lady of Deliverance, and I ask her to guide you on the path that leads to her Son. I cordially impart my Apostolic Blessing to each of you, to your families and to your loved ones.

2. I extend a cordial greeting to the "Societad da musica Breil/Dardin" from Switzerland. Dear musicians! You have come to Rome to visit the tombs of the holy Apostles in the Holy Year. I am pleased that you have brought your instruments with you. Hearts open their doors to those who know how to make music. Music is part of every celebration. Music is also part of the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000. Is there any better way to praise the Incarnation of God than with hymns and songs? In this regard, a thought of St Augustine comes to mind:  "Qui cantat, bis orat" - He who sings, prays twice. What is said of singers applies no less to musicians:  those who make music, who play instruments, pray twice. I congratulate you on this form of prayer and hope that you will also play your instruments enthusiastically in your homeland:  for the joy of human beings and for the greater glory of God. I willingly give you my Apostolic Blessing.

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