Meeting with Cardinal Carlos Motta (4 July 1980)

On 4 July 1980, the Holy Father met with Cardinal Carlos Motta, whom the Pope praised for his years of pastoral government, most especially for erecting the Basilica which the Pope had just consecrated.

Most eminent cardinal and beloved brother,

1. My visit to Aparecida would not be complete without this meeting, however brief. Your Eminence is linked to this sacred place not only for the almost twenty years of pastoral government, but also for the grandiose works that bear the sign of his activity, and the largest of these is certainly the majestic basilica which, amidst the common emotion, I had the joy of consecrating this morning. With your Eminence I thank divine Providence which grants you the joy of crowning your life as a priest near a Marian shrine, as it had already begun near another Marian shrine, the then humble church which, from the top of the Serra da Piedade, serves as a casket for the venerable image of the Mother of Sorrows, patroness of the native state of your Eminence, dear Minas Gerais.

2. Almost on the eve of 16 July, in which, under the gaze of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, your Eminence will celebrate his ninety years of fruitful existence, I would like to recall his long life as a man of the church: rector of the seminary in Belo Horizonte, auxiliary bishop of Diamantina, archbishop of San Luis del Maranhao, archbishop of São Paulo for two decades, cardinal of the holy church, archbishop of Aparecida.

At least I want to join your Eminence and the thousands of people who have received the benefit of his action as priest and bishop in a fervent thanksgiving. May the virgin Aparecida be the bearer of our "Te Deum", of whose devotion your Eminence was an ardent and sincere spur.

3. May the presence of these young people preparing for the priesthood constantly renew in your spirit the joy and fervor of your exemplary priestly ministry. I thank you in the name of many for the example that your Eminence has always given of fidelity to the Apostolic See, of priestly piety, of love for God and for the Church.

Congratulations, sir cardinal. Be a pledge of serenity, hope and comfort over the course of the years that God will still want to grant you the Apostolic Blessing that I now want to impart to you from the bottom of my heart.

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