HOLY FATHER BLESSES NEWLY RESTORED FACADE OF ST. PETER'S

VATICAN CITY, OCT 1, 1999 (VIS) - Yesterday evening the Pope blessed the recently restored facade of St. Peter's Basilica during a solemn celebration in St. Peter's Square. He encouraged the tens of thousands of people present to be "living rocks, active members of the spiritual edifice that is the Church."

Present at the ceremony, among others, were Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, president of the Italian Republic and Massimo D'Alema, prime minister, along with various ministers and members of the diplomatic corps and of the Roman Curia.

Prior to the Pope's arrival in the square, a documentary film was shown explaining the history of the basilica and the restoration of the facade. This was followed by a performance by the choir and orchestra of Saint Cecilia.

"We are gathered together here," said the Pope in his address, "to celebrate the joyful culmination of the restoration work" which has lasted for thirty months. "My thanks go especially to ENI (Italy's national hydrocarbon agency) who with great generosity made the restoration work possible, applying to it the most modern technologies."

"As we look in admiration at the phenomenal results of this work," the Holy Father added, "a spontaneous desire to praise the Lord wells up in our hearts. ... The gaze we lift up this evening to the architectural wonders of the facade anticipates that of innumerable pilgrims, who will come here from all parts of the world during the imminent Holy Year."

"May the approaching Jubilee find us ready to announce and witness our faith with more generous dedication," John Paul II requested. "The restoration work reminds us that all believers, each one of us, is called to continuous conversion and to a courageous revision of life, in order to be able to profoundly encounter Christ and fully benefit from the fruits of the Holy Year."

At the end of his address, John Paul II read the formula of benediction and blessed the facade. He then sat upon a small dais in front of the Vatican Basilica, to enjoy the Baroque-style firework and light displays that illuminated the facade as the choir sang Charpentier's "Te Deum."

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