ADDRESS OF JOHN PAUL II
TO THE PILGRIMS WHO HAD COME TO ROME
FOR THE BEATIFICATION OF FIVE SERVANTS OF GOD

Monday, 4 October 2004 

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

1. I am pleased to meet you the day after the solemn beatification liturgy. Let us pause to further reflect together on the timeliness of the message and spirituality of these five new Blesseds.

2. The lives of Blesseds Peter Vigne and Joseph-Marie Cassant urge us to return lovingly to the Lord Jesus, Head of the Church and present in the sacrament of the Eucharist. They both contemplated this mystery for long hours in the silence of prayer and found in this spiritual nourishment the desire to follow Christ and the grace of conversion. May their example and their intercession help Christian communities today to make the Eucharist, the source and summit of the Church's life, the centre of their lives. May it awaken the missionary zeal that the world needs in order to hear the Good News!

3. The life of Mother Ludovica De Angelis was dedicated to the glory of God and the service of her brothers and sisters. The programme of the long years she spent in the Paediatric Hospital of La Plata, a centre which today bears her name, was "to do good to all, no matter who". In this task she did her utmost to nurse sick children, working competently with health-care personnel and being an exemplary community superior for her Sisters. Her life was a continuous journey towards holiness, and presents her to us as an intercessor and a witness of charity.

4. In deep union with the suffering Saviour, the "Mystic of the Land of Münster" carried out the Apostle's mission to complete what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ for the Body of Christ, the Church (cf. Col 1: 24). Through the intercession of Bl. Anne Catherine, may the Lord make your hearts available to the interior and exterior needs of your neighbour. May the example of the Blessed reinforce in everyone the virtue of patience and the spirit of sacrifice.

Charles of Austria always wanted to do God's will. Faith was the criterion of his responsibility as the reigning Emperor and the father of a family. May faith in God also determine the orientation of your lives, after his example! May the Blessed accompany you on your pilgrimage to your heavenly Home.

God keep you in his grace!

5. I am delighted to greet the Bishops and Representatives of the Civil Authorities, as well as the Trappist Brothers, the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament and all the French-speaking pilgrims here this morning. May the new Blesseds help you to give thanks to God!

I greet the Bishops, priests and faithful, and with special affection the Daughters of Our Lady of Mercy who are taking part in this Audience. I commend you all to the intercession of the new Blesseds.

I also address a joyful greeting in the faith to the Bishops, priests and Religious, as well as to the faithful from the German-speaking countries. May God keep you in his grace!

Dear brothers and sisters, as I invoke the heavenly intercession of the Virgin Mary and the new Blesseds, I bless you from my heart, as well as the Communities you come from and all your loved ones.