SHRINES, PLACES OF CONVERSION AND OF MEETING WITH GOD

VATICAN CITY, NOV 25, 1999 (VIS) - Made public today was a message from the Holy Father to participants in the 35th congress of rectors and pastoral workers of shrines. The meeting is promoted by the Italian national network of shrines.

In his message, dated November 23, the Holy Father writes that if on the one hand, shrines "offer, to the faithful and to pilgrims, precious moments of contemplation, of verification, of vital interior renewal, they (also) constitute, for the less assiduous, or those in difficulty, or those who are searching, a providential chance to meet with God and a potent call to the sources of faith."

"In the modern socio-religious context, shrines function ever more as places where fundamental values are preserved, where one goes to obtain grace, even before (seeking) divine favor. The more widespread secularized culture becomes, the more these places acquire an intrinsic evangelizing significance, in the original sense of a strong call to conversion."

John Paul II closes his message by expressing his thanks for the special attention given in sanctuaries "to the service of the sacrament of Reconciliation, also promoting the preparation of ministers. This is more than ever appropriate, especially for the occasion of the Great Jubilee 2000."

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