POPE IMPLORES MARY FOR GIFT OF PEACE

VATICAN CITY, MAR 23, 2003 (VIS) - At the end of this morning's Eucharistic celebration in St. Peter's Square, during which he beatified five Servants of God, the Pope addressed the pilgrims who came from diverse countries for the beatifications, and then prayed the Angelus with them.

He greeted the pilgrim groups in French, German, Hungarian, and Spanish, concluding in Italian, with a plea for peace. "We now turn to Mary Most Holy, whom the new Blesseds loved and venerated with special devotion. Let us implore her, above all at this time, for the gift of peace. To her we entrust in particular the victims of these hours of war and their family members who are suffering. I feel especially close to them in affection and prayer."

Speaking French, the Pope welcomed the pilgrims who came for the beatification of Fr. Pierre Bonhomme. Then, in remarks to the German and Hungarian faithful, the Holy Father spoke of the life of Blessed Laszlo Batthyany-Strattman, a layman and father of 13. "May the example of Blessed Laszlo, who daily prayed the Rosary with his family, strengthen you in the veneration of Our Lady."

The Holy Father in Spanish then addressed the cardinals, archbishops, and bishops present at today's celebration, and especially "the religious of the institutes founded by the New Blesseds Maria Dolores Rodriguez Sopena, Juana Maria Condesa Lluch and Maria Caridad Brader."

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