THE POPE GIVES THANKS FOR 1998

VATICAN CITY, DEC 31, 1998 (VIS) - At the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola "a Campo Marzio" in Rome, John Paul II presided over Vespers this afternoon and over the "Te Deum" for the end of the year.

In the homily, the Pope gave thanks "for the abundance of gifts given by God" during the year of 1998. He also recalled the 278 visits to parishes which he has made in Rome since the beginning of his pontificate. These are "precious and enriching events," he said, "but also fruitful pastoral meetings." He then gave thanks for "the thousands of missionaries who have been working for two years already and who constitute a useful richness to stamp an increasing apostolic momentum on the pastoral care of the diocese."

Then the Pope affirmed that "a year from now, we will already be in the Holy Year and many pilgrims will begin to arrive from all over the world. I wish with all my heart that they will be greeted by a Church which is living and religiously fervent, a Church which is generous and sensitive to the needs of our brothers, especially to the poor and needy."

"With regard to the past year, I cannot not remember the difficulties which have marked the lives of our brothers and sisters, including those in Rome. I am thinking of families who have difficulty in balancing their daily budget, of adolescents in difficulty, of the young who lack a perspective on the future, of the sick and elderly persons who live alone, of the abandoned, who do not have homes and who are rejected by society. May the new year bring them serenity and hope."

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