Return to Italy (12 July 1980)

On 12 July 1980, the Holy Father returned to Rome's Fiumicino Airport from his Apostolic Journey to Brazil. The Pope expressed his gratitude to the President of the Brazilian Republic and to others in authority for giving him so much attention on his pilgrimage.

1. Thank you very much, Mr President of the Council of Ministers, for the kind words you wished to address to me, also in the name of the President of the Italian Republic and of the Government, when I set foot again on Italian soil, at the end of a journey full of encounters, talks, indelible emotions. It is not without a feeling of profound gratitude to the Lord that my thoughts go back to the intense days spent among the populations of that immense and stupendously varied land which is Brazil. I still have in my eyes the boundless panoramas, which offered themselves to the admiring gaze during the movements from one place to another; but much more I have in my heart the moving spectacle of the imposing crowds of people, of human reality, who came to meet the humble Successor of Peter,

I went among them as a missionary of Christ's love for man. With my visit I wanted to manifest my desire for communion with my brothers in the episcopate and with the faithful of that noble Church, with their efforts, their sufferings, their hopes. At the same time I wanted to express to the religious souls of other confessions and to all men of good will the great desire of the Catholic Church to offer its collaboration, with respect and mutual esteem, in every initiative aimed at promoting fundamental human values.

2. At this moment I am pleased to address a thought of gratitude to the President of the Brazilian Republic and to the other political, civil and military Authorities who have given me so much attention in the various stages of my pilgrimage.

I have also been showered with delicate attention by the Most Excellent Bishops, whose Churches I have visited, and to them too I wish to express my gratitude here again. Nor can I fail to say a word about the attestations of affectionate attachment received from priests, men and women religious, from representatives of Catholic organizations and, in general, from the faithful, with whom it was possible for me to make contact: they are beautiful memories, to which I will return with a grateful heart in recollection of prayer.

The more than 30,000 kilometers covered in these few days have allowed me, despite the limited time, to get a fairly concrete idea of ​​the human and Christian reality of that vast country, of the serious difficulties with which it has to contend, but also of the extraordinary resources at its disposal to build its tomorrow. There is a living Church down there, rich in authentic evangelical ferments, which stimulate her journey towards an ever greater commitment to God and to man.

3. And now that I am back in my headquarters in Rome after a flight, which the expertise of the pilots and the thoughtfulness of the staff have made particularly pleasant - a special word of appreciation and gratitude goes to each of them - I have the pleasure of be greeted by your exquisite courtesy. In renewing the expression of my gratitude to the President of the Council of Ministers, I extend this sentiment to the Personalities present, both civil and ecclesiastical, and to all who have wished to welcome me back. I like to see in this delicate and spontaneous gesture the testimony of an intimate participation in the aims of my apostolic journey.

I too have had a thought for you, illustrious gentlemen, in the most significant moments of the pilgrimage: I have remembered you in particular at the feet of the Virgin "Aparecida", among the multitude of praying people; and I reminded you again where the Brazilian Church adored, in a choral canticle of praise, the living Christ in the Blessed Sacrament of the Eucharist.

I trust that this new pastoral effort will bear consoling fruits for the good of souls, for mutual understanding between people and social classes, for international cooperation. God willing, without whose help human efforts are worthless. I ask Him for copious gifts of Christian prosperity also for all of you, for your families and for the inhabitants of this beloved Italian nation, of this eternal city and of the whole world.
 

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