At the Welcome Ceremony (10 September 1983)

On Saturday, 10 September 1983, the Holy Father was welcomed to Austria at the Schwechat International Airport in Vienna. He responded to his welcome with these words.

1. With joy and emotion I step onto Austrian soil today. With all my heart I greet all the high Authorities and the guests who honor me here with their presence. At the same time, I greet all the citizens of this beautiful country, which has been known and familiar to me for a long time.

Mr President of the Republic, I sincerely thank you for the cordial words of welcome, addressed to me in such a kind manner. I express my gratitude to Your Excellency and to the Austrian Episcopal Conference for the invitation to this visit that honors me. It is dedicated to all men, to all dioceses and to all municipalities in Austria, although the program of my trip is limited to Vienna and Mariazell. And my participation in the Austrian Katholikentag , which by the Lord's Providence I can celebrate together with many brothers and sisters from all parts of the country, gives this visit a particular character.

2. My pastoral visit on the occasion of the Katholikentag must demonstrate with particular clarity how united I feel with the faithful and those who pray, who, in today's world, full of problems, live in hope and want to give hope. This is the same fundamental commitment, which is also that of the solemnity of the Jubilee of Redemption. It is that Christian hope that overcomes all human resignation and all feeling lost and without a solution, which springs from a redeemed heart and has its inexhaustible source in the Cross of Jesus Christ.

Austria, whose people largely profess the Christian faith and which as a State has committed itself to active neutrality, is not only the bearer of a great tradition, but also has much to offer Europe and the world at the present time and in the future. "You are at the center of the Continent, like a strong heart", so rightly says your National Anthem. Together with the citizens of Austria, I hope and ask that this heart always beats healthy and full of hope. It is my deep desire that the intense preparation and solemnity of the " Katholikentag " will give rise to impulses for a new Christian consciousness in the Church and in society that will have fruitful consequences for the good of all.

3. It seems to me a happy circumstance of my pastoral visit in Austria that it begins with a European Evening Ceremony under the sign of the Cross and the Magnificat and ends in the Sanctuary of the "Magna Mater Austriae". To Christ crucified, the only one in Whom there is hope and salvation, and to his Mother, who is Mother of all, I commend the successive days of my meeting with the people and the Church of Austria; and furthermore, I recommend our common commemoration of the historical event of 1683, which should not be considered either as a simple memory, much less be marked by triumphalism. It must rather be a commitment and an obligation for us to learn from history and to carry it out in the spirit of our faith for a common future of humanity richer in hope.

For this reason, my thanks go to Your Excellency, illustrious President, and to Your Eminence, dear Cardinal, with my joy at being in your country and the anticipated joy for the coming days of communion in Faith, Hope and Prayer. To all the men of this country I say with all my heart: God bless and protect your beloved Austria!

Copyright © Dicastero per la Comunicazione - Libreria Editrice Vaticana