POPE THANKS JUBILEE ORGANIZERS AND HELPERS

VATICAN CITY, JAN 11, 2001 (VIS) - This morning, the Pope received members of the Presidential Council and the Committee for the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000, as well as civil and military authorities and their collaborators, all of whom cooperated in the organization and celebration of the Holy Year.

"At the start of the 21st century and the third millennium," said the Pope, "the Jubilee indicated Christ, humanity's only hope and salvation, as a fixed point from which to set out anew."

The Holy Father went on, saying that this meeting offered him the chance to thank once more each of those present and the organizations they represent because, "with your effective collaboration, you have contributed to the success of each stage of the jubilee journey."

"I also ask," he went on, "those who generously offered their own spiritual contribution through prayer and suffering - the elderly, the sick, male and female religious of the contemplative life - to continue in this precious mission so that the seeds sown during the Jubilee may continue to produce abundant fruit in the coming years."

The Pope affirmed that, with the closure of the Jubilee Year on January 6, "we have been left a precious legacy that must be passed on to future generations, following two principal directions: First of all, continuing to keep Christ at the center of personal and social life. If we genuinely lived the Jubilee, this will be seen in the fruits of sanctity we bring to everyday life. In the second place, to all places we must bring the witness of a charity that is expressed through forgiveness, service, willingness and sharing."

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