To the Japanese People, the Clergy and Lay Catholics (23 February 1981)

On 23 February 1981, the Holy Father, speaking in the Tokyo Cathedral addressed the Japanese people, with special attention to “the Bishops who invited me and to all the faithful who so devoutly prepared my coming.”

It is a joy for me to set foot on this soil of Japan. It is truly an hour of great exultation that I experience upon arriving in this hospitable land, where Mother Nature has produced wonders of incomparable beauty that speak to the whole world of the glory of the Creator. Above all it gives me immense pleasure to be among the Japanese themselves, in their country which has spawned a venerable culture spanning many centuries. 

I come to Japan as a pilgrim of peace, bringing a message of friendship and respect for you all. I wish to communicate my esteem and love for every man, woman and child in this archipelago. Furthermore, in a spirit of gratitude, I hope to return the visit that thousands of Japanese have paid to me and my predecessors in Rome, starting with Gregory XIII in 1585. 

Over the years, countless citizens of this country have graced us with their presence. Many Japanese have come to the Vatican to talk about their religious values, to display their art and to express their warm wishes. For all this I offer renewed thanks today. 

In return I express to all the people of this noble nation my desire for their well-being and peace. In particular, my respectful greetings go to His Imperial Majesty and the Imperial Family. I declare my gratitude to the Government authorities, who facilitated my visit in many ways. 

With welcome advance greetings to all the members of the different religions of Japan. Due to the many contacts I have already had in the Vatican, I feel close to you in friendship. While I sincerely wish to meet many different categories of people during my visit, I extend my warm wishes to the youth of Japan, who must bring back hopes for a better world, in which the effective protection of the dignity of every human being will be the measure of progress and the guarantee of peace. 

And now, allow me to say a word to the Catholic community of this land. I am grateful to the Bishops who invited me and to all the faithful who so devoutly prepared my coming. With deep fraternal affection I greet my Catholic brothers and sisters who work together with their other Japanese brothers in full freedom of conscience and religion. Furthermore, being good citizens, they are an important and much loved part of the universal community of the Catholic Church. I pay homage to their religious faith which for generations has been expressed in good works and has been authenticated by the extraordinary testimony of heroic martyrs. Among these martyrs include those Japanese who have just been beatified in Manila and who today honor all of Japan and are acclaimed throughout the world. For you (Phil 4:7). 

And as my visit begins today in Tokyo, a visit that will take me to Hiroshima and Nagasaki, my great desire is to assure each of those I meet of my feelings as a brother and friend, of my feelings of love and peace. May the Most High God pour out his choicest blessings upon Japan! 

Copyright © Dicastery for Communication - Libreria Editrice Vaticana