By coming to the aid of the Foundation bearing my name, you express your devotion and kindness to the Pope. Thank you very much for that. I reciprocate this kindness by commending in prayer to God all those who support me in my Petrine ministry. Please bring my thanks and cordial greeting to your loved ones, to the members of the Foundation’s Chapters and to all those who in any way join in this good work. I bless you from the heart!
Priests, bishops, dear friends! I cordially greet the members of the Foundation on the occasion of this meeting in Rome. Your visit came shortly after the celebration of the twentieth anniversary of the election of this Polish son to the See of Peter. I take this opportunity to thank you for your spiritual closeness in these years. The Foundation was established to develop and disseminate the richness of spiritual values, so significantly present in the Polish thousand-year-old Christian culture. I am very grateful for your support of the important undertakings of the Foundation, as well as for your efforts to ensure its future by creating the Perpetual Fund.
Strengthening the bond between faith and culture is an essential feature of the Church’s mission, especially in the run-up to the third Christian millennium. The new evangelization calls not only for a renewed awareness of the great cultural heritage that has shaped the Polish history, but also for the personal commitment of believers to the creation of a contemporary society inspired also by essential human and spirituals valus. During my recent trip to Poland, I emphasized that “our perseverance in the faith of our fathers, the fervor of our hearts and the openness of our minds depend on whether future generations will be led to Christ by the same witness of holiness that Saint Adalbert, Saint Stanislaus or Saint Hedwig the Queen gave us” (The Angelus speech, Krakow, 8 June 1997).
Dear friends, I pray that your participation in the life of the Foundation will bear abundant fruits of renewal of Christian life and bring the Kingdom of God closer. I entrust all of you to our Lady of Czestochowa, so that Her maternal face may accompany us on our pilgrim journey.
(Speech to the benefactors of the John Paul II Foundation. Vatican, October 29, 1998)
Do not stop in this good work. Papal Speeches to the John Paul II Foundation
John Paul II Foundation &Centre for Documentation and Study of the Pontificate of John Paul II, Rome 2012
