Welcome Ceremony at the Madrid Barajas International Airport (31 October 1982)

On Sunday, 31 October 1982, the Holy Father initiated his Apostolic Journey to Spain with this speech on his arrival at the Madrid Barajas International Airport.

Your Majesty, venerable brothers in the Episcopate, Authorities, beloved Spanish people.
Praised be Jesus Christ!

1. With real emotion I have just set foot on Spanish soil. Blessed be God who has allowed me to get this far on this apostolic journey of mine.

From the first moment of my arrival in the nation's capital, I send my warmest greetings and thoughts to all the inhabitants of Spain. Those of the cities and towns; of the Peninsula and the Islands; of the great metropolises or of the most remote village in the mountains or plains; to the inhabitants of the centers that I will visit in the next few days, and those that I will not be able to physically visit.

It is with everyone in mind that I undertook this pastoral visit, conceived and intended equally for all the children of this Nation, regardless of the inevitable geographical locations of the visit itself. For this reason, wherever I meet with the different sectors or groups of the Church in Spain, I will intend to address that sector or ecclesial group throughout the nation.

Communion in the love of Christ, the televised image and the radio waves will be our constant bonds in these days. Always maintaining this exclusively religious-pastoral character, my journey is placed above any political or partisan purpose. A character that - I am sure - you all rightly wish to preserve, and I ask you to preserve it by collaborating effectively in this sense.

2. And now, after this greeting, I wish to express my deepest gratitude to you.

Gratitude, first of all, to His Majesty King Don Juan Carlos, who had the deference to come to receive me at this airport in Barajas and who, interpreting his feelings, those of the Queen, and of the Spanish people, addressed me a cordial welcome with fervent and noble words.

Gratitude to the Government, the Authorities and the Representatives of the people, for their welcome presence at this ceremony and for their precious collaboration in the preparations of this visit.

Gratitude to all of you, dear Spanish brothers and sisters; for the warmth of your welcome, for the affection with which you give hospitality to a friend, and above all to the one who Spain has always deeply loved throughout its history: the Pope.

3. Precisely because I know well and appreciate in its fullness this characteristic trait of Spanish Catholicism, I wish to correspond with a confidence.

I come to you at the end of my fourth year of pontificate. Exactly one year later than what had been planned, and it could not be achieved for well-known reasons. Now I want to tell you that since the first months of my election to the Chair of Saint Peter I have been thinking with emotion about a trip to Spain, also considering the most favorable ecclesial occasion for this visit.

Today I am brought to you by the closing - instead of the opening - of the IV Centenary of the death of Saint Teresa of Jesus, this great Spanish and universal saint, whose greatest source of pride was that of always being a daughter of the Church, and who has so much contributed to the good of the Church itself in these four hundred years.

4. For this reason, I come to pay homage to this extraordinary ecclesial figure, proposing once again the validity of his message of faith and humanism.

I come to meet with a Christian community that dates back to the apostolic era. In a land that was the object of the evangelizing zeal of Saint Paul, placed under the patronage of Saint James the Greater, whose memory endures in the Pilar of Zaragoza and in Santiago de Compostela; who was won over to the faith by the missionary concern of the seven apostolic "varones"; which sparked the conversion to the faith of the Visigothic populations in Toledo; which was a great destination for European pilgrimages to Santiago; who experienced the feat of reconquest; who discovered and evangelized America; who was a luminary of science in Alcalá and Salamanca, and of theology in Trent.

I come, attracted by an admirable history of fidelity and service to the Church, imprinted in apostolic works and in many great figures who have renewed this Church; who strengthened her faith, defended her in difficult times, and gave her new children across entire continents. Indeed, thanks above all to this unparalleled evangelizing activity, the largest part of the Church of Christ today speaks and prays to God in Spanish. After my apostolic journeys, especially in Latin America and the Philippines, I want to say in this particular moment: thank you Spain, thank you Church in Spain, for your fidelity to the Gospel and to the Bride of Christ!

5. This story, despite its limitations and human errors, is worthy of all praise and admiration. It must serve as an inspiration and a stimulus, to rediscover in the present moment the deep roots of a people's being. Not to make him relive the past, but to offer him an example to continue and improve in the future.

On the other hand, I am not unaware of the well-known tensions, sometimes leading to open conflicts, which have arisen within your society, and which have been studied by many of your writers.

In this historical-social context, it is necessary for Spanish Catholics to be able to recover the full vigor of the spirit, the strength of a living faith, the evangelical clarity illuminated by the profound love for brother man. To draw from there a renewed strength that will always make you tireless creators of dialogue and promoters of justice, animators of culture and human and moral elevation of the people, in a climate of respectful coexistence with other legitimate options, demanding at the same time the right respect of yours.

6. In order for this visit to produce the effects we all desire, here are three reasons that indicate the great objectives of my trip to Spain:

- confirm my brothers in the faith, as successor of Peter (cf. Luke 22, 32). So that the light of Christ continues to illuminate and inspire everyone's existence. So that the dignity of every man, which finds its ultimate foundation in Christ, is respected;

- strengthen hope, which is a consequence of faith and which must open us to optimism. Do not be afraid! Open the doors to Christ! I said at the beginning of my pontificate. This is the message of hope that I bring to my visit;

- encourage the energies of the Church and the works of Christians. So that they continue to be - as has happened throughout history - a tree rich in fruits of love for Christ and for men. For Christians to fight battles of peace and love, to be committed to solidarity with men and in the present moment to be generous and persevering in works of service, for the good of all Spaniards and of the universal Church.

God bless Spain. God bless all Spaniards with mutual harmony and understanding, with prosperity and peace.

I commend the apostle Saint James, patron saint of Spain.

And I invoke the protection of the most holy Virgin of Pilar, patroness of Spain, so that she may bless this journey.

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