Pope at Regina Coeli in Blaj thanks the nation for hosting him: full text

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Before concluding this Divine Liturgy, I want once again to greet all of you and all those whom I have met in the course of these days.  I thank you for your warm welcome.  I offer a respectful greeting to the President of the Republic and to the Authorities present here.  I express my heartfelt gratitude for their generous cooperation in the planning and the unfolding of my visit.  I am grateful to His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel, to the Holy Synod, and to the clergy and faithful of the Romanian Orthodox Church for their fraternal welcome.  May the Lord bless this ancient and illustrious Church and sustain it in its mission.

         I also offer a greeting full of affection and gratitude to His Beatitude Cardinal Lucian Mureşan.  I greet the faithful of the Catholic Church: the Bishops, priests, religious and lay faithful of Bucharest and Iaşi, together with the many pilgrims from Şumuleu Ciuc.  I thank the Lord for giving me the opportunity to pray with you and to encourage your commitment to evangelization and your witness of charity.  Here in Blaj, the land of martyrdom, freedom and mercy, I pay tribute to you, the sons and daughters of the Greek-Catholic Church, who for three centuries have borne witness to your faith with apostolic zeal.

         May the Virgin Mary bestow her maternal protection upon all the citizens of Romania who in the course of history have always trusted in her intercession.  In entrusting all of you to her, I ask her to guide you on your journey of faith, as you advance towards a future of authentic progress and peace, and contribute to the building of an ever more just and fraternal homeland. 

         Regina Coeli…