Holy Mass of the Pilgrim (9 November 1982)

On Tuesday, 9 November 1982, the Holy Father celebrated the Holy Mass of the Pilgrim. In his homily, as he neared the end of his Journey through Spain at Santiago de Compostela, the goal of countless pilgrims through history, the pope observed that he too is a pilgrim, “a pilgrim-messenger who wants to travel the world, to fulfill the mandate that Christ gave to his Apostles when he sent them to evangelize all men and all peoples.” 

Dear Brothers in the Episcopate,
dear brothers and sisters.

1. Today I have reached the last stage of my journey through the lands of Spain, precisely in the place that the ancients called "Finis terrae" and which is now an open window towards the new lands, also Christian, beyond the 'Atlantic.

I have already passed by several local churches, scattered throughout the splendid landscape of this beloved country. I have also visited some Sanctuaries, and at the moment I am near one of the sacred and most famous places in history, famous throughout the world: the Basilica cathedral which contains the tomb of Saint James, the Apostle who - according to tradition - was the evangelizer of Spain.

Over the centuries, this beautiful city of Compostela has been the destination of a journey traced across the land of Europe with the steps of pilgrims who, in order not to get lost, looked at the stars in the firmament.

I too am a pilgrim: a pilgrim-messenger who wants to travel the world, to fulfill the mandate that Christ gave to his Apostles when he sent them to evangelize all men and all peoples. As a pilgrim brought to Spain by Teresa of Jesus, I admired the fruits of the evangelization work carried out by many thousands of disciples of Christ in twenty centuries of Christian history.

Pilgrim who traveled the blessed Spanish lands, sowing liberally the word of the Gospel, faith and hope.

Now I am with you, dear brothers and sisters, who have come from all the dioceses of Galicia and from many parts of Spain.

In this Pilgrim Mass, the Bishop of Rome greets you all with ecclesial affection: I greet your Prelates and all the participants. I am happy to see you in such large numbers and to know that during the Compostelan Holy Year, several million pilgrims - more than in previous Holy Years - came to Santiago in search of forgiveness and an encounter with God.

We are about to celebrate the Eucharist: the culmination and center of our Christian life, the goal to which the journey of penance, conversion and the incessant search for the Lord leads us, the attitude of the Christian who must always be on his way towards him.

2. Deposited in the mausoleum of your Cathedral, preserve the memory of a friend of Jesus, of one of the Lord's favorite disciples, the first of the Apostles who bore witness to the Gospel with his blood: Saint James the Greater, the son of Zebedee.

The representatives of the Sanhedrin claimed to impose the law of silence on Peter and the Apostles who "With great strength bore witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus and all of them enjoyed great esteem" ( Acts 4, 33); “We expressly commanded you not to teach in this name any more, and behold you have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine and want to bring that man's blood upon us” ( Acts 5, 28).

But Peter and the Apostles replied: “We must obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers resurrected Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on the cross. God raised him to his right hand, making him Head and Savior, to give Israel the grace of conversion and the forgiveness of sins. And of these facts we and the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who submit to him, are witnesses" ( Acts 5, 29-32).

The mission of the Church began to be realized precisely thanks to the fact that the Apostles, filled with the Holy Spirit received in the Upper Room on the day of Pentecost, obeyed God rather than men.

They paid for this obedience with suffering, with blood, with death. The fury of the leaders of the Sanhedrin of Jerusalem was shattered against the very firm decision, which led Saint James to martyrdom when Herod - as the Acts of the Apostles tell us - "began to persecute some members of the Church and had James, brother of John, killed with the sword ” ( Acts 12, 1).

He was the first of the Apostles to suffer martyrdom. He is the Apostle who for several centuries has been venerated throughout Spain, and throughout Europe and in the entire Church here, in Compostela.

3. Saint James was the brother of John the Evangelist. They were the two disciples to whom - in one of the most impressive dialogues reported in the Gospel - Jesus asked that famous question: ""Can you drink the cup that I am about to drink?". And they answered: « We can » ” ( Mt 20, 23).

It was the word of availability, of courage; an attitude typical of young people, but not exclusive to them, but of all Christians, and in particular of those who accept to be apostles of the Gospel. The generous response of the two disciples was accepted by Jesus. He said to them: "You will drink my cup" ( Mt 20, 23).

These words were fulfilled in James, son of Zebedee, who with his blood bore witness to the resurrection of Christ in Jerusalem. Jesus had asked the question about the cup that the two brothers were supposed to drink, when their mother, as we read in the Gospel, approached the Master, to ask him for a place of special importance for both of them in the Kingdom. However, after having noted their willingness to drink the cup, Christ said to them: “You will drink my cup; However, it is not up to me to grant that you sit at my right hand or at my left, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father” ( Mt 20, 23).

The dispute over achieving first place in the future Kingdom of Christ, which his disciples imagined too humanly, aroused the indignation of the other Apostles. Jesus then took advantage of the opportunity to explain to everyone that the vocation to his Kingdom is not a vocation to power but to service, "just like the Son of man, who did not come to be served, but to serve and give his life as a ransom for many” ( Mt 20, 28).

In the Church, evangelization, the apostolate, the ministry, the priesthood, the episcopate, the papacy, are service. The Second Vatican Council, in whose light the People of God walks in these last years of the 20th century, has magnificently explained to us, in various documents, how to serve, how to work and how to suffer for the cause of the Gospel (cf. Lumen Gentium , 18.20; Christus Dominus , 15). Yes

it is about serving the man of our time as Christ served him, as the Apostles served him. James the Greater lived his vocation of service in the Kingdom established by the Lord, offering, like the Divine Master, "his life as a ransom for many".

4. Here, in Compostela, we have his testimony. A testimony of faith that, over the centuries, entire generations of pilgrims have almost wanted to "touch" with their own hands or "kiss" with their own lips, coming specifically to the Cathedral of Santiago from all over Europe and the East. The Popes, for their part, gave impetus to these pilgrimages, which also had Rome and Jerusalem as their destinations.

The meaning and style of the Pilgrimage is deeply rooted in the Christian vision of life and the Church (cf. Lumen Gentium , 9). The road to Santiago animated a vigorous spiritual and cultural current of fruitful exchange between the peoples of Europe. However, what the pilgrims were really looking for, with their humble and penitent attitude, was the testimony of the faith I referred to before: the Christian faith that seems to pulsate in the Compostelan stones with which the Basilica of the Saint is built. This is the Christian and Catholic faith that constitutes the identity of the Spanish people.

At the end of my pastoral visit to Spain, here, near the Sanctuary of the Apostle Saint James, I invite you to reflect on your faith, on the effort to connect again with the apostolic origins of your Christian tradition. In fact, the Church of Christ, born from him, grows and matures towards Christ through the faith transmitted by the Apostles and their successors. It is starting from this faith that we must face the new situations, the new problems and objectives of today; living ecclesial contemporaneity in an attitude of conversion, in service to evangelization, offering the dialogue of salvation to all, to consolidate ourselves more and more in truth and love.

5. Faith is a treasure that "we have in earthen vessels, so that it may appear that the extraordinary power comes from God and not from us" ( 2 Cor 4:7).

The faith of the Church has its origin and its foundation in the message of Jesus that the Apostles spread throughout the world. Through faith, which manifests itself as announcement, testimony and doctrine, the revelation of God in Jesus Christ is transmitted to men without historical interruption.

The Apostles, preaching the Gospel, established an incessant dialogue with the men of all peoples which seems to resonate with special emphasis here, close to the "testimony" of the apostle Saint James and his martyrdom. The letter to the Corinthians speaks to us about this incessant dialogue in the passage we read today during the proclamation of the Word.

Saint Paul says, and it seems that Saint James says it: “Always and everywhere carrying the death of Jesus in our body, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our body. Indeed, we who are alive are always exposed to death because of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our mortal flesh" ( 2 Cor 4, 10-12).

The pilgrims seem to respond: “I believed, therefore I spoke. . . convinced that he who resurrected the Lord Jesus will also resurrect us with Jesus and place us next to him together with you. . . so that grace, even more abundant through the work of a greater number, may multiply the hymn of praise to the glory of God” ( 2 Cor 4, 13-15).

Thus the apostolic testimony persists in Compostela and the dialogue of generations takes place through which faith grows, the authentic faith of the Church, faith in Jesus Christ, Son of God made man, who died and rose again to give us salvation. He, rich in mercy, is the Redeemer of man.

A faith that translates into a lifestyle according to the Gospel, that is, a lifestyle that reflects the beatitudes, which manifests itself in love as the key to human existence and which enhances the values ​​of the person, to engage him in solving problems humans of our time.

6. It is the faith of the pilgrims who came and continue to come here from all over Spain and from abroad.

The faith of past generations who came to Compostela “yesterday”, and of the current generation that continues to come today. With this faith the Church is built, one, holy, catholic and apostolic.

Thus, therefore, close to the apostle Saint James, the Church of the living God is built in us. This Church professes its faith in God, announces God, adores God. This is how we proclaim it in the responsorial psalm of the liturgy we are celebrating:
“May God have mercy on us and bless us, / let his face shine upon us; / so that your way may be known on earth, / your salvation among all people. / Let the people praise you, God, / let all the people praise you” ( Ps 66 [67], 2-4).

My pilgrimage through the lands of Spain ends here, in Santiago de Compostela. I passed through your country preaching Christ, crucified and risen, spreading the Gospel, in the attitude of a "witness of hope", and I encountered generous openness, enthusiastic correspondence, sincere affection, affable hospitality, creative ability and desires of Christian renewal.

For this reason, I now wish to proclaim and celebrate with the words of the Psalmist the glory and praise of the living God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

May all this service of the pilgrim Bishop of Rome be for the greater glory of God - “ad maiorem Dei Gloriam”. In this spirit I began it and I ask you to receive it in this way.

In this city of Compostela, a destination towards which, over the centuries, so many men and peoples have wandered, I wish, together with you, sons and daughters of Catholic Spain, to invite all the nations, of Europe and of the world - all the peoples and all men of the earth - to the adoration and praise of the living God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

“Let the people praise you, God / let all the people praise you” ( Ps 66 [67], 6). Amen.

© Copyright 1982 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana

Copyright © Dicastery for Communication - Libreria Editrice Vaticana