Farewell Ceremony (13 May 1982)

On Thursday, 13 May 1982, at the Fatima Heliport, the Holy Father bade farewell to Fatima, to continue his Apostolic Journey to Portugal.

Dear brothers and sisters.

The time has come for me to leave Fatima, to continue my apostolic journey, my pastoral mission in your homeland.

I have come for a Magnificat with you, continued throughout all the acts and ceremonies of this pilgrimage; it was Our Lady who presided; I, as his son, brother among brothers, participated to confirm my brotherhood in faith and, as successor of the apostle Saint Peter, to be herald and spokesperson of the Mother of God and our Mother, proclaiming the mercy of the Most High, the mystery of the relationship of justice with divine love, manifested in Jesus Christ, dead and risen (cf. John Paul II, Dives in Misericordia , 5).

I began the pilgrimage with the song of God's mercy in my heart; and, upon departure, I wish to tell you that my soul continues to vibrate with this song; and "I will sing without end the graces of the Lord" ( Ps 89 [88], 2) in the choir of the current generation of the Church, which has the Mother of divine mercy as its first soloist. With the sacrifice of her heart, especially at the foot of the Cross, she had a singular participation in the revelation of mercy: she wishes to always lead us, through the paths of mercy, to hope; to “Jesus Christ, our hope” ( 1 Tim 1:1).

We come here to pray, in an attitude of grateful love to the "Lord who is merciful and full of compassion" ( Jas 5:11). Feeling how much we need, personally, to continue to appeal to divine mercy, we implore: "Forgive us, Lord, our debts" (cf. Mt 6, 12); and feeling deeply how much the men of our time offend and reject him, we pray, with Christ on the Cross: "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do" ( Lk 23, 34). But we also pray, moved by an impulse of love for all men, our brothers, without exception, wishing true good to each of them: children, young people, adults, fathers of families, the elderly and the sick, in any latitude of the earth they find each other. And we would like them to know it. Yes, we would like the entire human family to know the "gift of God" (cf. Jn 4:10), in Jesus Christ, the gift of love and mercy, and to feel driven to cultivate mercy, the mandatory path of peace, to listen to the Word, which continues to echo in this mountain of Fatima, coming from the mountain of Galilee: "Blessed are the merciful, for they will find mercy" ( Mt 5, 7).

You can be sure of this immortal cry - oh Fatima, farewell - that will live "always in my soul", after having raised our supplications from here, united, guided by faith, hope and charity. The time for separation has come. But I believe that we will continue to be very united in the love of Christ, parting with the joy of having fulfilled an imperative of this love, with our "penance and prayer".

I am deeply grateful to all of you, who have committed yourself and worked with diligence and enthusiasm, here in Fatima, to organize this pilgrimage down to the smallest details. You have certainly done everything to glorify God and out of devotion to the Madonna; but love for the Pope will certainly also have had an influence: Thank you all!

And so that the joy of this meeting may always be preserved and renewed, as I say "goodbye" to you, "for as long as God wills", I give you, together with my blessing, this memory of farewell to the Mother: "Do everything that he - Christ - he will tell you!”. Don't forget it!

Bless you God Almighty Father and Son and Holy Spirit!

Pray for the Pope! Goodbye! See you next time!
 

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