* Original message posted in: VATICAN.
* Crossposted in: IN_CATHOLIC.

VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE

TWENTIETH YEAR - N. 195
ENGLISH
SATURDAY, 6 NOVEMBER 2010

SUMMARY OF POPE'S APOSTOLIC TRIP TO SPAIN:

- Benedict XVI: I Have Come as a Pilgrim to Santiago
- Live Lives Enlightened by the Truth of Christ

OTHER NEWS:

 - Other Pontifical Acts

___________________________________________________________

BENEDICT XVI: I HAVE COME AS A PILGRIM TO SANTIAGO

VATICAN CITY, 6 NOV 2010 (VIS) - This morning Benedict XVI began the
nineteenth apostolic trip of his pontificate, which is taking him to two
places of ancient Catholic tradition in Spain: Santiago de Compostela,
traditionally associated with the practice of pilgrimages to the tomb of the
Apostle James the Great and currently celebrating a Jubilee Year, and
Barcelona where the Pope will consecrate the as-yet-unfinished church of the
Sagrada Famila, 128 years after building work began.

  Santiago de Compostela, the first stop on the Holy Father's trip, owes its
name to the Apostle St. James (Santiago in Spanish) and to the Latin phrase
"campus stellae" (Compostela), a reference to the star which, according to
tradition, indicated the site containing the remains of the Apostle who,
following his martyrdom in Jerusalem, was miraculously transported to Spain.
At the site of the discovery of the saint's body, which took place in the
year 823, King Alfonso II ordered a church to be built and entrusted it to
the Benedictine monks, but in 997 it was destroyed by the Muslim troops of
Almanzor. Rebuilt and transformed by King Bermudo II, it eventually became
the third most important pilgrimage site after Jerusalem and Rome. In 1985
the city of Santiago de Compostela was declared by UNESCO as a world
heritage site.

  The Pope departed from Rome's Fiumicino airport at 8.30 a.m. and landed at
Santiago de Compostela at 11.30 a.m., where he was welcomed at the steps of
his aircraft by Their Royal Highnesses Felipe de Borbon y Borbon and Letizia
Ortiz Rocasolano, Prince and Princess of Asturias, and by Archbishop Julian
Barrio Barrio of Santiago de Compostela.

  The welcome ceremony took place at the airport's southern terminal,
inaugurated for this occasion, and was attended by authorities from the
central government, the autonomous region of Galicia, and the town hall of
Santiago, as well as by Spanish cardinals, the executive committee of the
Spanish Episcopal Conference and several hundred faithful. After the playing
of the national anthems and a speech by the Prince of Asturias, the Pope
addressed some words to those present.

  "I have come as a pilgrim in this Holy Year of Compostela and I bring in
my heart the same love of Christ which led the Apostle Paul to embark upon
his journeys, with a desire also to come to Spain. I wish to join the great
host of men and women who down the centuries have come to Compostela from
every corner of this peninsula, from throughout Europe and indeed the whole
world, in order to kneel at the feet of St. James and be transformed by the
witness of his faith. They, at every step and filled with hope, created a
pathway of culture, prayer, mercy and conversion, which took shape in
churches and hospitals, in inns, bridges and monasteries. In this way, Spain
and Europe developed a spiritual physiognomy indelibly marked by the Gospel.

  "Precisely as a herald and witness of the Gospel", the Holy Father added,
"I am also going to Barcelona, in order to nourish the faith of its
welcoming and dynamic people. A faith sown already at the dawn of
Christianity, one which blossomed and grew in the warmth of countless
examples of holiness, giving rise to countless institutions of beneficence,
culture and education. A faith which inspired the gifted architect Antoni
Gaudi to undertake in that city, with the fervour and co-operation of many
people, that marvel which is the church of the Sagrada Familia. It will fall
happily to me to dedicate that church, which reflects all the grandeur of
the human spirit in its openness to God.

  "I am very pleased to be once again in Spain, which has given the world a
constellatio
n of great saints, founders and poets, like Ignatius of Loyola,
Teresa of Jesus, John of the Cross, Francis Xavier, among many others; in
the twentieth century it raised up new institutions, groups and communities
of Christian life and apostolic activity and, in recent decades, it has
advanced in harmony and unity, in freedom and peace, looking to the future
with hope and responsibility. Moved by her rich patrimony of human and
spiritual values, she seeks likewise to progress amid difficulties and to
offer her solidarity to the international community".

  Benedict XVI continued his remarks: "These contributions and initiatives
which have distinguished your long past, as well as the present, together
with the significance of the two beautiful places I will visit on this
occasion, lead me to look also to all the peoples of Spain and Europe. Like
the Servant of God John Paul II, who from Compostela exhorted the old
continent to give a new impulse to its Christian roots, I too wish to
encourage Spain and Europe to build their present and to project their
future on the basis of the authentic truth about man, on the basis of the
freedom which respects this truth and never harms it, and on the basis of
justice for all, beginning with the poorest and the most defenceless; a
Spain and a Europe concerned not only with people's material wants but also
with their moral and social, spiritual and religious needs, since all these
are genuine requirements of our common humanity and only in this way can
work be done effectively, integrally and fruitfully for man's good", the
Pope concluded. He then completed his remarks with some words in Galician.

  "Dear friends, I renew my thanks for your kind welcome and for your
presence at this airport. I renew my affection and closeness to the beloved
sons and daughters of Galicia, Catalonia and the other peoples of Spain. In
commending my stay among you to the intercession of the Apostle St. James, I
ask God to bestow his blessings on all of you. Thank you very much".

  Following the welcome ceremony, the Holy Father held a brief private
meeting in the airport's VIP room with the Prince and Princes of Asturias,
before travelling by popemobile to the city of Santiago de Compostela.
PV-SPAIN/                                                               VIS
20101106 (1020)

LIVE LIVES ENLIGHTENED BY THE TRUTH OF CHRIST

VATICAN CITY, 6 NOV 2010 (VIS) - On his arrival at the cathedral of Santiago
de Compostela, the Pope entered the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament before
going on to greet faithful from the Portico de la Gloria, a granite
construction dating from the twelfth century the columns of which are
decorated with the figures of Christ, the Apostles, saints, prophets,
angels, symbolic creatures and episodes from the Bible.

  The Holy Father then exited the cathedral by the Royal Door and re-entered
by the Holy Door. After a moment of prayer before the tomb of St. James he
gave the traditional embrace to the statue of the Apostle.

  Then, following a brief greeting by Archbishop Julian Barrio Barrio of
Santiago de Compostela, the Pope pronounced his address.

  "To go on pilgrimage", he said, "is not simply to visit a
place to admire
its treasures of nature, art or history. To go on pilgrimage really means to
step out of ourselves in order to encounter God where He has revealed
Himself, where His grace has shone with particular splendour and produced
rich fruits of conversion and holiness among those who believe".

  "In this Holy Year of Compostela, I too, as the Successor of Peter, wished
to come in pilgrimage to the 'House of St. James', as it prepares to
celebrate the eight-hundredth anniversary of its consecration. I have come
to confirm your faith, to stir up your hope and to entrust to the Apostle's
intercession your aspirations, struggles and labours in the service of the
Gospel. As I embraced the venerable statue of the saint, I also prayed for
all the children of the Church, which has her origin in the mystery of the
communion that is God".

  Benedict XVI explained how the "Chur
ch is this embrace of God, in which
men and women learn also to embrace their brothers and sisters and to
discover in them the divine image and likeness which constitutes the deepest
truth of their existence, and which is the origin of genuine freedom.

  "Truth and freedom are closely and necessarily related", he added.
"Honestly seeking and aspiring to truth is the condition of authentic
freedom. One cannot live without the other. The Church, which desires to
serve unreservedly the human person and his dignity, stands at the service
of both truth and freedom. She cannot renounce either, because what is at
stake is man himself, because she is moved by love for man, 'the only
creature on earth which God has wanted for its own sake', and because
without this aspiration for truth, justice and freedom, man would lose his
very self.

  The Pope continued: "From Compostela, the spiritual heart of Galicia and
at the same time a school of unbounded universality, allow me to exhort all
the faithful of this beloved archdiocese, and those of the Church in Spain,
to live their lives enlightened by the truth of Christ, confessing the faith
with joy, consistency and simplicity, at home, at work and in their
commitment as citizens.

  "May the joy of knowing that you are God's beloved children bring you to
an ever deeper love for the Church and to co-operate with her in her work of
leading all men and women to Christ", the Holy Father told the faithful.
"Pray to the Lord of the harvest that many young people will devote
themselves to this mission in the priestly ministry and in the consecrated
life. Today, it is as worthwhile as ever to dedicate one's whole life to the
proclamation of the newness of the Gospel.

  "I cannot conclude without first expressing my appreciation and gratitude
to the Catholics of Spain for the generosity with which they support so many
institutions of charity and of human development. Continue to maintain these
works which benefit society as a whole, and whose effectiveness has been
shown in a special way in the present economic crisis, as well as when grave
natural disasters have affected certain countries".

  Speaking then in Galician, Pope Benedict asked "Almighty God to grant all
of you the boldness which St. James showed in bearing witness to the Risen
Christ. In this way, may you remain faithful in the ways of holiness and
spend yourselves for the glory of God and the good of our brothers and
sisters in greatest need".

  Having concluded his remarks the Pope placed some incense in the
"botafumeiro", the cathedral's thurible, which is used during important
ceremonies and is famous for its enormous size. Operated by eight men known
as " tiraboleiros", it swings back and forth as the hymn of the Apostle
James is sung and always arouses the admiration of pilgrims. The current
botafumeiro is made of gilded brass, it is 1.1 metres high and weighs 50
kilograms. It was constructed in Santiago in the middle of last century.

  After the ceremony, the Pope went to the archbishopric where he had lunch
with Spanish cardinals, the executive committee of the Spanish Episcopal
Conference and members of his entourage.
PV-SPAIN/                                                               VIS
20101106 (840)

OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, 6 NOV 2010 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed Fr. Roberto Bordi
O.F.M., pastor at Magdalena in the apostolic vicariate of El Beni, Bolivia,
as auxiliary of the same apostolic vicariate (area 150,686, population
201,695, Catholics 161,321, priests 19, permanent deacons 2, religious 70).
The bishop-elect was born in Rome in 1946 and ordained a priest in 1971.
NEA/                                                                    VIS
20101106 (70)

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 - Origin: VIS - Ufficio Stampa della Santa Sede (1:396/3) 
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