PILGRIMS CELEBRATE SEVENTH CENTENARY OF DEATH OF ST. IVO

VATICAN CITY, MAY 31, 2003 (VIS) - The Pope this morning welcomed a group of pilgrims from the diocese of Saint-Brieuc and Treguier in France, who are in Rome to celebrate the seventh centenary of the death of St. Ivo, the patron saint of jurists who is also known as "the advocate of the poor." His feast day is May 19.

The Holy Father told the pilgrims that "the values proposed by St. Ivo remain a powerful stimulant for out times, especially in the Europe that is being built. A servant of justice, St. Ivo invites men of good will to build a world of peace, founded on respect for law and on service to the truth. A defender of the poor, this lawyer encourages persons and people to put into practice solidarity and equity that guarantee the rights of the weakest whose inalienable dignity will be fully recognized."

"As a priest, and tireless preacher of the Word of God," the Pope added, "he calls the Church today to propose to everyone the Gospel, a source of new relations among men. May the example and life of St. Ivo invite Christians to actively contribute to the building of Europe, a community of destiny in which all are called to work so that love and truth will meet each other and justice and peace will encompass each other."

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