Dear brothers and sisters, beloved compatriots!
I am happy to meet you again today. The tenth anniversary of the Foundation bearing my name provided the occasion for our meeting. You have begun the celebration of this jubilee, as it can be called, in the Polish House with a solemn Holy Mass and the dedication of a commemorative plaque. Now, you have gathered for an audience here in the Vatican.
Every meeting with you, even today, invites me to reflect, recalls people and the events related to them.
Exactly on October 16, 1981, by virtue of a special decree, the aforementioned Foundation began its activity. Less than a month later, on November 8, I blessed the Polish House on via Cassia. These ten years that have passed are marked by the enormous work of many people, the selfless gift of those who have devoted themselves exclusively to this cause. Today, I want to speak about this, while expressing my great gratitude to God, from whom all work begins, and to the people who have undertaken and continue to carry out this work.
I cordially greet my guests who are present here. I greet Cardinal Franciszek Macharski, Metropolitan of Kraków, Cardinal Edmund Szoka, President of the Prefecture of Economic Affairs of the Holy See; Cardinal Andrzej Maria Deskur, so meritorious for the affairs of the Polish diaspora. I address my greeting to Archbishop Józef Kowalczyk, Apostolic Nuncio to Poland, to Bishop Szczepan Wesoły, President of the Foundation and Guardian of the Pastoral Care of the Polish Diaspora, to the representatives of the Episcopate of Poland and the Episcopate of the United States, and especially to Archbishop Adam Maida, Metropolitan of Detroit, Moderator of the Foundation in this great country. I cordially greet the members of the Administrative Board of the Foundation from various countries.
I address my warm welcome to all of you present in this Chamber, because I cannot name each one of you, and yet everyone is so close to my heart. You participate in this work through your prayers, your sacrifices, your kindness, and your sincere interest. I also extend my heart to those who are not present here and who do a lot for the Foundation.
(10th anniversary of the John Paul II Foundation Vatican City, September 26, 1991)
Do not stop in this good work. Papal Speeches to the John Paul II Foundation
John Paul II Foundation & Center for Documentation and Study of the Pontificate of John Paul II, Rome 2012
