Welcome Ceremony in San Salvador (6 March 1983)

On Sunday, 6 March 1983, the Holy Father spoke at a Welcoming Ceremony at the airport of Ilopango-El Salvador, blessing all the people of the land.

Mr. President,
Dear Brothers in the Episcopate,
Dear brothers and sisters,

Upon setting foot on the land of El Salvador for the first time, I would like to express, first of all, my gratitude to the President and the Authorities of the Nation, who, together with my Brothers in the Episcopate, gave me the happy opportunity to visit this Country, which is particularly present in my ecclesiastical solicitude.

Thank you all for your warm welcome! Thank you to all of you who are here and also to those who, for various reasons, due to some setback or professional demands, can only accompany us in spirit. My affectionate greeting and my cordial embrace of peace in the Lord reach everyone, starting with the Pastor of this archdiocese, D. Arturo Rivera Damas, the President of the Episcopal Conference, D. José Eduardo Alvarez, the other brothers Bishops, priests, people consecrated women and lay people committed to the apostolate.

For a long time I have been hoping for this day to come, to witness with my presence something that you certainly already know: that the Pope is close to you and shares your sufferings with sadness. How could a father and brother in faith remain insensitive to the pain of his children?

El Salvador has been constantly present in my prayers, in my insistent appeals for peace, both oral and written, trying at the same time to ensure that faith does not weaken nor does my spirits diminish hope, because of a situation, not yet irreparable, that has been sown of damaging divisions and, even worse, the shedding of so much innocent blood across the national soil.

I hope that the measures announced in the President's speech and all other appropriate means contribute to the orderly and peaceful progress of society, based on respect for the rights of all, and that within it everyone has the possibility of collaborating in a climate of true democracy to promote the common good.

I hope this visit that I make to you under the sign of peace will help to stop the conflict and bring this beloved Salvadoran family together again in a serene home, where you all feel like true brothers. May the good will of everyone, and in particular the children of the Church, abandoning all feelings of selfishness and hatred, be applied from now on to promoting justice, the basis for hope, in order to achieve a new land, fruitful in the fruits of truth and Christian reconciliation.

With this hope, I bless from this moment on all the children of El Salvador.

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