Homily on the Esplanade of the Avenida de los Pirineos

On Wednesday, 10  October 1984, the Holy Father celebrated Holy Mass on the Esplanade of the “Avenida de los Pirineos” (Zaragoza), where he offered the following homily.

“ Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the ages ” ( Mt 28:19-20).

1. These words seem to me particularly vivid and appropriate for this meeting I am having with you, dear brother bishops, beloved brothers and sisters of Spain.

Jesus' missionary mandate on the banks of the Tiberias resonates strongly today on the banks of the Ebro, where for so many centuries it has fostered an echo of the apostolic endeavors of James and Paul.

“Go and teach all nations.” These are the Master's words that draw me today to the lands of America, on a journey that has much to do with his missionary mandate.

Indeed, the peoples and Churches of America are now preparing to celebrate the fifth centenary of their first evangelization, of their baptism into the faith of Jesus Christ. A vast and centuries-old task that had its origins here, in the Iberian lands. A generous and fruitful sowing of those Spanish and Portuguese missionaries who sowed the Word of the Gospel with open hands, in an effort that continues to this day and constitutes one of the most beautiful pages in the entire history of evangelization carried out by the Church.

When it comes to giving thanks to God for the abundant fruits of that sowing, and to deepening the current and future commitments to evangelization throughout the continent, the Pope, who aspires to be "the first missionary," could not be absent. When almost two years ago, in this same city of Zaragoza, I had the joy of prostrating myself at the feet of Our Lady of Pilar, and of evoking here, before the Patron Saint of Hispanic Heritage, the approaching centenary of the discovery and evangelization of America, I told you that such a commemoration was "an appointment the Church cannot miss" ( National Marian Act in Honor of Our Lady of Pilar , 3; November 6, 1982).

In light of this promise and the missionary purpose that inspires my new trip to Latin America, you can clearly understand the meaning of the stopover I decided to make in Zaragoza. On the threshold of an eminently missionary trip, and on behalf of the entire Church, I wanted to come personally to thank the Church in Spain for the enormous work of evangelization it has carried out throughout the world, and especially on the American continent and in the Philippines.

On many of my trips, I have been able to witness the current fruit of that labor. I therefore wished, on this very special occasion, to repeat here in Zaragoza what I had the opportunity to say in Madrid, just after the beginning of my apostolic visit: "Thank you, Spain; thank you, Church of Spain, for your fidelity to the Gospel and to the Bride of Christ!" ( Welcome Ceremony at Barajas Airport in Madrid , 4; October 31, 1982). At the time, then, of beginning the preparations for the fifth centenary of the evangelization of America, I wished to pause at the Pilar in Zaragoza to emphasize the very dimensions that this trip entails.

2. Here, in the firm and ancient tradition of the Pillar, the apostolic dimension of the Church shines forth in all its splendor. The Pope is the one who, by the Lord's design and mercy, eminently embodies and perpetuates this apostolic tradition, which in Rome has a historic and unbreakable relationship with the figure and ministry of Peter. But the Pope wishes to bring to the Churches in America not only the firmness of faith that Peter represents, but also the missionary audacity of the other apostles, who, obeying the Master's command, placed their talents and their very lives at the service of spreading the Gospel in the New World.

The faith that the Spanish missionaries brought to Latin America is an apostolic and ecclesial faith, inherited—according to a venerable tradition that has its centuries-old seat here next to the Pilar—from the faith of the Apostles. From the same vigorous and authentic source of the faith of the Apostles, the Pope now wishes to bring a new impetus to the Churches in America and to your own Spanish Church.

3. Here in Zaragoza, the missionary dimension of the Church, and specifically of the Church in Spain, also shines through this evening.

A few moments ago, I was able to meet in the Church of El Pilar with the families of the priests, religious men and women, and lay people who serve the Gospel today in the sister Churches of America. It was a brief but intense meeting. The missionary spirit in the Church in Spain has not been extinguished! You have not ceased to fulfill the "go and teach all peoples"! Nearly eighteen thousand Spanish missionaries today perpetuate in those lands, so sister to you, the missionary tradition that I wish to grow, as one of the highest glories of this Church. May the Lord bless the steps and hands of the Spaniards who throughout the world, and especially in America, evangelize and baptize in his name!

May the Lord reward the generosity of Spanish families who know how to dedicate their children to the task of "going and teaching" bequeathed to us by the Master! May the Lord grant and increase in this Church the missionary spirit that distinguished its past, that is part of its present life, and that must stimulate and enrich its future!

4. There is still a third dimension, very endearing and very special, in this my stopover in Spain and in Zaragoza: the Marian dimension .

My last words as I bid you farewell in Compostela, after ten days of living together, which I fondly remember, were: “Farewell, Spain; farewell, land of Mary” ( Farewell Ceremony at Santiago de Compostela Airport , 4; 9 November 1982). I left you in her company and under her protection then, and now I find you once again at her side, beside this Pillar of Zaragoza, which symbolizes the firmness of the faith of the Spanish people and their great love for the Virgin Mary.

This encounter is neither indifferent nor accidental. The Marian faith of the Spanish missionaries quickly took root in those latitudes in devotions and invocations that remain the guiding light and star of believers in those countries. To say Spain is to say Mary . It is to say El Pilar, Covadonga, Aránzazu, Montserrat, Ujué, El Camino, Valvanera, Guadalupe, La Almudena, Los Desamparados, Lluch, La Fuensanta, Las Angustias, Los Reyes, El Rocío, La Candelaria, El Pino. And to say Latin America is also to say Mary , thanks to the Spanish and Portuguese missionaries. It is to say Guadalupe, Altagracia, Luján, La Aparecida, Chiquinquirá, Coromoto, Copacabana, El Carmen, Suyapa, and so many other Marian invocations that are no less beloved.

The Puebla Conference, in its reflection on evangelization, expressly stated: "She must increasingly be a teacher of the Gospel in Latin America" ​​( Puebla , 290). Yes, the teacher, the one who takes us by the hand, the one who teaches us to fulfill the missionary mandate of her Son and to observe all that He has taught us. Love for the Virgin Mary, Mother and Model of the Church, is a guarantee of the authenticity and redemptive efficacy of our Christian faith.

Your brothers and sisters in America, who wish to profoundly celebrate the fifth centenary of the arrival of the Gospel to those vast lands, are engaged in a long and complex effort of social, cultural, and spiritual affirmation. This America, tense and hopeful, young and suffering, depleted and generous, its human and religious future— I wish to place it this evening at the feet of the Virgin in supplication. May she, Mary, the Mother of the Church, continue to guide and illuminate the faith and the path of the peoples of America! May they always find in you, Spanish Catholics, the consolation of your fervent witness and the help of your humble and generous collaboration!

But if our meeting and our prayer today have an apostolic, missionary, and Marian dimension in light of my trip to Santo Domingo and Puerto Rico, I would not like you to consider this stop in Zaragoza as a mere stopover on the journey to America . I urged you to acknowledge and express gratitude before the entire Church for your evangelizing past. It was an act of Christian and historical justice. But I also urge you to stimulate your missionary capacity for the future . “Always remember,” as I told you two years ago, “that the missionary spirit of a given segment of the Church is the exact measure of its vitality and authenticity” ( Meeting with Religious in Madrid , 8; November 2, 1982). This is what I repeat to you this evening with renewed intensity .

5. I know your efforts, your aspirations and your difficulties. My visit two years ago taught me to better understand your religious tradition and to appreciate your present efforts. I was then able to say in all sincerity to your bishops: "Despite the chiaroscuros, the shadows and the ups and downs of the present moment, I have confidence in and have high hopes for the Church in Spain" ( Address to the Plenary Assembly of the Spanish Episcopal Conference , 8; Madrid, 31 October 1982).

Today, I maintain the same increased confidence and hope. I know well that your Pastors have designed a broad and demanding program of "service to the faith of the Spanish people" based on the preaching I carried out two years ago in so many places throughout this beloved nation. That preaching was nothing less than my fulfillment, as "first missionary," of Jesus' command: "Go and teach." I pray that the Lord may remember and meditate on them bear the desired fruits in the People of God.

The most natural way to conclude this pleasant encounter with you is to reaffirm my preaching from those days, reminding you of Jesus' command: Go and teach everything I have taught you. Teach not only with words, but also by the example of your lives.

Be firm in the faith like this Pillar of Zaragoza! Be consistent in your personal, family, and public behavior with the teachings and example of Our Lord Jesus Christ! Bear practical witness to the greatness and goodness of God before those who do not know Him or, even knowing Him, seem ashamed of Him, whether in public or in private. Overcome the temptation of mistrust and fruitless divisions, living joyfully and generously the unity of faith and the communion of Christ's love.

You will be guided to this by the strenuous ministry of your bishops, my brothers, whose communion with one another and with the Successor of Peter is a guarantee of a faithful transmission of the faith, the primary basis of an evangelizing future rich in the fruits of Christian life, in harmony with the glorious past previously recalled.

6. Regarding our social life, what I told you from the Nou Camp in Barcelona comes back to me: “Live and infuse into temporal realities the sap of Christ's faith.” “Demonstrate this spirit in the attention you pay to crucial problems. In the family, by living and defending respect for all life from the moment of conception. In the world of culture, education, and teaching, by choosing for your children an upbringing that includes the bread of the Christian faith” ( Homily in Barcelona , ​​8; November 7, 1982). May the right of parents to choose the type of education they prefer for their children thus be fully realized in your country.

Be exemplary in your civic life and in your capacity for coexistence, contributing to greater social justice for all. With due respect for the legitimate choices of others, "strive to ensure that laws and customs do not turn their backs on the transcendent meaning of man or on the moral aspects of life" ( Ibid ., 1212).

Do not fall into the error of thinking that society can be changed by changing only external structures or by seeking primarily the satisfaction of material needs. We must begin by changing ourselves , truly converting our hearts to the living God, renewing ourselves morally, destroying the roots of sin and selfishness in our hearts. Transformed people effectively contribute to transforming society.

7. You who were capable of that gigantic undertaking we have recalled today, be faithful to your history of faith . Have confidence in yourselves. Live your faith with integrity, in a context where it is fully respected or where some obstacles may arise. Walk together toward the future.

You have before you a great task: to prepare, from now on, the Church in Spain, renewed, faithful and generous in the year two thousand, so that your children and the children of your children may find in her the grace of God and the riches of his gifts, so that Spain may continue to be faithful to itself and a point of support in the spread of the Gospel .

I summon you, my dear young people, with the memory of the Bernabeu always alive in my ears and in my heart.

I call upon Christian families, for I still see in them the imposing Eucharist of the Castellana.

I summon the nuns of the cloister, who with their lives of prayer and their enthusiasm brought a touch of warmth to the cold Avila morning.

I call upon lay Catholics, educators of the faith, children, Christian workers, men of the field and the sea, men of culture and science, whom I remember well in the various places of our unforgettable encounters.

Finally, I call upon all Spanish Catholics, whose vitality of faith is well known to me.

May the Virgin Mary, under whose maternal protection we have gathered this evening to sing and pray, abundantly bless you all, bless the families of Spain, and bless this beloved, apostolic, missionary, and Marian Church .

With this wish I give you, Pastors and faithful, especially the sick throughout Spain and all those who suffer, my Apostolic Blessing.

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