VATICAN CITY, 29 JUN 2009 (VIS) - At midday today, the Holy Father appeared at the window of his private study overlooking St. Peter's Square to pray the Angelus with thousands of pilgrims gathered below.
On this Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul, Benedict XVI addressed a special greeting to faithful of his own diocese of Rome, assuring them of his constant prayers "that Rome may uphold its Christian vocation by maintaining unadulterated its immense spiritual and cultural heritage", and "that its inhabitants may translate the beauty of the faith they have received into concrete forms of thought and action, thus offering those who ... come to this city, an atmosphere charged with humanity and evangelical values".
"Today's Solemnity also has a universal aspect", he went on. "It expresses the unity and catholicity of the Church. That is why every year on this day, the new metropolitan archbishops come to Rome to receive the pallium, symbol of their communion with Peter's Successor".
"May the shared veneration of these martyrs [Peter and Paul] be a sign of an ever greater and more deeply felt communion among Christians all over the world".
Following the Angelus prayer, Benedict XVI indicated that "the publication of my third Encyclical, entitled 'Caritas in veritate', is now imminent. Returning to the social themes contained in 'Populorum progressio' written by Servant of God Paul VI in 1967, this document - dated today 29 June, Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul, Apostles - aims to delve more deeply into certain aspects of the integral development of our age, in the light of charity and of truth.
"To your prayers I entrust this latest contribution made by the Church to mankind, in her commitment to sustainable development while fully respecting human dignity and the real needs of everyone", he concluded.
ANG/ST. PETER ENCYCLICAL/... VIS 20090630 (310)
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