POPE PRAISES "HEROIC FIDELITY" TO CHRIST DURING COMMUNISM

VATICAN CITY, MAY 23, 2002 (VIS) - Following a three-hour flight on Azerbaijani Airlines, Pope John Paul arrived in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, shortly after 6 p.m., local time and was driven to St. Alexander Nevsky Square, one of the city's principal squares, for the official welcome ceremony. The ceremony took place in the presence of Bulgaria's President Georgi Parvanov, Orthodox Patriarch Maxim, the country's Catholic bishops, the diplomatic corps and other civil and religious authorities.

The Orthodox cathedral of the same name, St. Alexander Nevsky, the patriarchal palace, the old Orthodox Church of St. Sophia, the Monument of the Unknown Soldier, parliament, city hall and other public buildings are all located on this square.

The Holy Father, in opening remarks to those gathered in the square, thanked "Almighty God for allowing me to fulfill a desire that I have long held in my heart," of visiting Bulgaria. He recalled that annually he receives in the Vatican a delegation from Bulgaria on the feast of Sts. Cyril and Methodius, the brothers who evangelized this part of the world. "Today it is the bishop of Rome who comes to you," he stated.

Referring to Blessed Pope John XXIII who was apostolic delegate in Bulgaria for ten years, the Pope said that, "in memory of him, I greet everyone with affection and I say to all that I have never ceased to love the Bulgarian people."

The Holy Father then greeted civil and religious authorities, his fellow Catholic bishops and Christians of other ecclesial communities, the Jewish community and the followers of Islam led by the Grand Mufti. He had special words for His Holiness Patriarch Maxim and all Orthodox faithful in Bulgaria. "I fervently hope that my visit will serve to increase our knowledge of each other so that, with God's help and on the day and in the way that pleases Him, we shall finally live 'united in the same mind and judgment'."

Recalling the centuries of "abundant fruits of Christian witness," John Paul II remarked that, "even during the long cold winter of the totalitarian system, which brought suffering to your country and to many other European nations, fidelity to the Gospel did not disappear, and numberless children of this people remained heroically faithful to Christ, in not a few cases to the point of sacrificing their lives. ... May their sacrifice not be in vain, and may it serve as an example and make fruitful your ecumenical commitment with a view to full unity."

"Wounds need to be healed and the future needs to be planned with optimism," declared the Holy Father. "At the same time there is need to move forward with wisdom, ... promoting the values on which the greatness of the Nation is founded: moral and intellectual honesty, the defense of the family, care of the needy, respect for human life from conception until natural death. I express my hope that the efforts to achieve social renewal, which Bulgaria is courageously undertaking, will be wisely and generously supported by the European Union."

In closing, John Paul II pointed out that "Christianity is part of the roots of this country's history and culture" and added that "the Catholic Church, with the daily commitment of her children and the ready availability of her structures, intends to contribute to maintaining and developing the heritage of spiritual and cultural values of which the country is so proud."
At the end of the ceremony, at 7:30 p.m., a floral wreath was placed on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in the Pope's name. The papal car then circled St. Alexander Nevsky Square and proceeded to the apostolic nunciature, where Blessed John XXIII was nuncio from 1924 to 1934.

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