Farewell Ceremony

On Saturday, 10 August 1985, at his departure from Lomé, the Holy Father expressed his joy for the time he had spent in Togo.

Mr. President,
Dear Brothers in the Episcopate,
Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Friends, Praise be to God!

1. Giving thanks to God, I express to all of you my joy for these two days spent together, at the beginning of my third apostolic journey to Africa. I have pleasantly enjoyed your hospitality: it is proverbial, but I have noted that you rightly deserve this reputation! I have also been pleased by the witness of the Christian communities I have met, by their vitality, their ardent prayer, the warm simplicity of their welcome. Our great prayer assemblies in Lomé, Kara and Togoville will remain in the memory of the heart, as will the other meetings. Finally, I am also happy to see that my visit has strengthened your joy and your hope.

2. As I leave, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to all those who have contributed to the organization of these days of celebration. To you, Mr. President of the Republic, who welcomed me personally with great courtesy, who received me among you with honor and who generously took numerous and exceptional measures to ensure the smooth running of the meetings that were close to my heart. Beyond my own person, I want to see in you the esteem that you have for the universal mission of the Holy See and also the important role of the Catholic community in this country and its development in religious freedom. My gratitude also goes to all the public authorities, to all the services that have made their kind and effective contribution to the various stages of this journey.

3. The Church in Togo also played an important role in the preparation of the program. I thank, together with the bishops, those priests, nuns and lay people who dedicated their time, their talent, their effort, so that our meetings were as fruitful as possible. I felt a real satisfaction, not only for the fervor of your participation, but for the attention with which you had spiritually prepared my visit, to better "make Church with Peter". I am certain that the spiritual renewal that has begun will continue and bear all its fruits.

I greet with particular affection the sick, the handicapped, all those who suffer or who have not been able to come to our meetings: may God himself give them his comfort!

For this Church, I have already expressed many wishes: I will continue to recommend it to God in prayer. Above all, I desire that you look ahead. Having received the Christian faith, deepen it, draw all the consequences from it, build with it an original Christian civilization, which draws from the best of your traditions, and which at the same time refers to the experience of the universal Church. It is not the Gospel that must change, it is the cultures that must strive to better assimilate the seeds of life and salvation brought by Jesus Christ. It is important to pursue this evangelization in depth, according to the orientations of the Second Vatican Council, in the light and with the strength of the Holy Spirit. I am certain that you can prepare, with the grace of God, a beautiful future for your Church, if you perseveringly cultivate the authentic seed of the Gospel sown in your land, and if you watch over its growth. Thus, your Catholic community will itself give its wealth in the concert of the universal Church and, in this country, in harmonious relationship with all citizens, it will contribute to the progress of the nation.

I do not want to leave without greeting our Protestant brothers and the other religious communities, who have welcomed me with benevolence.

4. For all the inhabitants of this country and their leaders, my wishes are wishes of peace. I am not unaware of the difficult problems that Togo, like many countries in this African region, must resolve for a truly human development; these problems are made even more serious by trials such as drought. But I know that Togo is capable of facing them, even with poor means, in harmony and in a solidarity that respects the dignity of individuals and communities. Spiritual development, justice, peace, prosperity - achieved through the cooperation of all with international solidarity and distributed equitably - such are the conditions of a happy future for the whole country, and such are the wishes that I express in a special way for Togo.

Thank you again. I assure you that Togo will remain close to my heart and my prayer. As I say goodbye, I ask God to shower you with His blessings!

Amen!

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