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POPE RECOLLECTS HIS APOSTOLIC TRIP TO SPAIN

VATICAN CITY, 10 NOV 2010 (VIS) - During his general audience, held this
morning in the Paul VI Hall, Benedict XVI reminisced about his recent apostolic
trip to the Spanish cities of Santiago de Compostela and Barcelona. "I went
there", he said, "to strengthen my brothers and sisters in the
faith, and I did
so as a witness of the Risen Christ and a sower of the hope that does not
disappoint and does not fail".

From the beginning of the trip, during the welcome ceremony at Santiago de
Compostela, "I was able to experience the affection the people of Spain feel
towards Peter's Successor", he said. "In this Holy Year of
Compostela, I wished
to become a pilgrim, along with the many others who have journeyed to that
famous shrine".

In the cathedral of Santiago, "where with great emotion I gave the traditional
embrace to the saint, I thought how that gesture of welcome and friendship is,
in fact, ... a powerful sign of the desire to conform ourselves to the
apostolic message. This message, on the one hand, commits us to being faithful
custodians of the Good News the Apostles transmitted, without succumbing to the
temptation to alter it, diminish it or distort it to other interests while, on
the other, it makes each of us tireless announcers of faith in Christ, with the
word and witness of our lives in all fields of society".

The Holy Father then turned his attention to the reasons that make so many
people leave their daily lives to follow the Route of Santiago. "In moments of
confusion, of searching, of difficulty, and in the desire to strengthen their
faith and live more coherent lives, the pilgrims of Compostela follow a
profound itinerary of conversion to Christ Who took the weakness and sins of
humanity, the misery of the world, on His own shoulders, and carried them to
where evil no longer has any power and where the light of goodness illuminates
all things. They are people from all over the world who walk silently,
rediscovering the ancient mediaeval and Christen tradition of pilgrimage as
they pass through towns and cities permeated by Catholicism".

"It is faith in Christ that gives meaning to Compostela, an extraordinary
spiritual place which continues to be a landmark for Europe today. ... Openness
to the transcendent, and fruitful dialogue between faith and reason, between
politics and religion, between economy and ethics, will enable us to build a
Europe which, faithful to its vital Christian roots, can fully respond to its
vocation. ... Thus, certain of the immense possibilities of the continent, and
trusting in its hopeful future, I invited Europe to open itself to God and so
favour prospects for authentic and respectful encounter, united with peoples
and civilisations of other continents".

Benedict XVI then spoke of the second stage of his apostolic trip, which took
him to Barcelona where he consecrated the church of the Sagrada Familia and
declared it as a minor basilica. Contemplating the beauty of that building,
"which invites us to raise our gaze and our souls to heaven, to God, I recalled
other great religious buildings, such as the cathedrals of the Middle Ages
which have profoundly marked the history and appearance of the major European
cities.

"That splendid work, rich in religious symbolism, ... almost like an immense
stone sculpture", he added, "draws us to the true shrine, the place of
authentic worship, heaven, where Christ entered to appear before God on our
behalf. The great architect of this magnificent temple brilliantly represented
the mystery of the Church into which the faithful are incorporated by Baptism
as living stones in the construction of a spiritual edifice".

The church of the Sagrada Familia was conceived by its architect, Antoni Gaudi,
"as an immense catechesis on Jesus Christ, as a hymn of praise to the Creator.
... Indeed, the extraordinarily expressive and symbolic capacity of the
artistic forms and motifs, as well as the innovative architectural and
sculptural techniques, evoke the supreme Source of all beauty", said the Pope.
He then explained how Gaudi's own life, "from the moment he accepted the
commission to build the church, ... was marked by a profound change" as he felt
"the need to prepare himself spiritually in order to succeed in expressing the
unfathomable mystery of God in material reality".

The Holy Father went on: "In Barcelona I also visited the 'Obra Benefico-
Social Nen Deu', ... where handicapped children and young people are cared for
with love and professional skill. Their lives are precious in the eyes of God,
and they are a constant invitation to us to abandon our own selfishness".

Also in Barcelona, "I prayed intensely for families, the vital cells and the
hope of society and of the Church. I also recalled people who suffer,
especially at this time of severe economic difficulties. My thoughts also went
to the young, ... that they may discover the beauty, value and commitment of
Marriage in which a man and a woman form a family which generously accepts life
and accompanies it from conception until natural end. Everything done to
support marriage and the family, to help people in need, everything that serves
to enhance man's greatness and his inviolable dignity, also helps to perfect
society".

The Pope concluded his remarks by rendering thanks to God "for the intense few
days I spent in Santiago de Compostela and Barcelona". He expressed his
gratitude "to the King and Queen of Spain, to the Prince and Princess of
Asturias, to the authorities, ... to the archbishops of those two particular
Churches", and to "everyone whose efforts ensured my visit to those two
marvellous cities was fruitful. They were unforgettable days which will remain
inscribed in my heart".

Before this morning's general audience, in St. Peter's Basilica, the Pope had
received a group of pilgrims from the Italian town of Carpineto Romano who had
come to Rome to thank him for his visit there in September commemorating the
bicentenary of the birth of Pope Leo XIII.

Also in the basilica, the Pope then greeted a group of pilgrims from the Czech
Republic, who had likewise come to Rome to return the visit the Pope had made
to their country in September 2009. "I pray to the Lord", he told
them, "that
He will cause the grace of that journey to bear fruit, and I hope that the
Christian people of the Czech Republic many continue to bear courageous witness
to the Gospel, with renewed enthusiasm and in all places".
AG/VIS 20101110 (1100)

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