POPE SYLVESTER II, AT THE SERVICE OF MANKIND AND THE CHURCH

VATICAN CITY, APR 12, 1999 (VIS) - Made public today was a Letter from Pope John Paul to Bishop Rene Sejourne of Saint-Flour, France, on the occasion of the millennium of the election of Pope Sylvester II on April 2, 999.

Sylvester II, who reigned until May 12, 1003, was a monk named Gerbert in the Benedictine monastery of Aurillac at the time of his election to the papacy. The Pope recalls that it was the monastery's founder, St. Geraud, "who welcomed the young Gerbert and formed the man and the Christian in him.

"A remarkable man, the monk Gerbert singularly dominated his century. The breadth of his knowledge, his pedagogical qualities, his matchless erudition, his moral uprightness and his spiritual sense made him a true master. Emperors and Popes turned to him. Gerbert, the humanist scholar and the wise philosopher, true promoter of culture, placed his intelligence at the service of man."

The Holy Father highlights throughout the Letter how Pope Sylvester placed "his knowledge and moral and spiritual qualities at the service of man and the Church." He writes that "it was as an authentic pastor that (Gerbert) defended the Church's interests, that he fought simony, that he protected monasteries against diverse encroachments."

Pope Sylvester II was also a "man of unity and peace, ... a Pope with a missionary spirit" who brought the Church to Hungary and Poland. "On the threshold of the third millennium, as violence and wars succeed each other, and Christians are still not united, the figure of Gerbert invites us to tirelessly seek peace and unity, through the path of dialogue, and concerned with truth and forgiveness."

JPII-LETTER;SYLVESTER II;...;SEJOURNE;VIS;19990412;Word: 280;