| Vatican City (Fides Service) – “Still vivid in my soul are the intense emotions of recent days, during which so many people gathered around me on the occasion of my 25th year of Pontificate. I renew my thanks to God, rich in mercy, for these 25 years of ministry at the service of the Church”. Before reciting the Angelus prayer from his window with the people gathered in St Peter’s Square on Sunday October 26, Pope John Paul II referred to recent celebrations marking the 25th anniversary of his election as Pope and he thanked all the Cardinals, Patriarchs and Bishops who came “to take part in this jubilee recurrence”; the heads of state and other authorities of many countries “who sent me their congratulations”; “A warm thank you I address lastly to priests, consecrated persons, and all the faithful united in spirit with me, in greetings and with the precious gift of prayer. I think especially of the sick, who were close to me with their suffering.”
The Holy Father also expressed his gratitude to “Christians of other confessions and followers of other religions” and he ended his address with these words: “I renew the entrustment of my life and my ministry to the Virgin Mary, Mother of the Redeemer and Mother of the Church. To her I repeat with total filial trust: Totus tuus!” After the Angelus prayer the Pope greeted the various groups of visitors in different languages, including a large group of Latin American pilgrims who carried an image of the “Senor de los Milagros”
SL (Fides Service 27/10/2003 EM lines 19 Words: 275)
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