Vatican City, 11 July 2015 (VIS) –
The Holy Father's last day in Bolivia began with Holy Mass celebrated
in the chapel of the archbishop's residence in Santa Cruz de la
Sierra, and his offering to Our Lady of Copacabana, patron of
Bolivia, of the gifts given to him by President Evo Morales last
Wednesday during their meeting in the presidential palace.
“The President of the Nation, in a
gesture of warmth, was so kind as to offer me two decorative honours
on behalf of the Bolivian people. I thank the Bolivian people for
their affection and the president for this courteous gesture. I would
like to offer these two decorations to the patron saint of Bolivia,
the Mother of this noble nation, so that she may always remember her
people and from Bolivia, from the shrine where I would like them to
be, that she may remember the Successor of Peter and the whole Church
and care for them from Bolivia”.
He then recited the following prayer to
the Virgin Mary:
“Mother of the Saviour and Our
Mother, Queen of Bolivia, from the heights of your Shrine in
Copacabana, heed the prayers and needs of your children, especially
the poorest and most abandoned, and protect them. Receive as a gift
from the heart of Bolivia and as a token of my filial affection these
symbols of closeness and warmth that President Evo Morales Ayma has
bestowed on me with cordial and generous affection, on behalf of the
Bolivian people, on the occasion of this apostolic trip, which I
entrusted to your solicitous intercession.
“I pray that these honours, which I
leave here in Bolivia at your feet, and which recall the noble flight
of the condor in the skies of the Andes and the honoured sacrifice of
Fr. Luis Espinal, S.J., may be emblems of the everlasting love and
persistent gratitude of the Bolivian people for your solicitous and
intense tenderness.
At this moment, Mother, I place in your
heart my prayers for all the many petitions of your children, which I
have received in these days: I beg you to hear them; to give them
your encouragement and protection, and to show to the whole of
Bolivia your tenderness as a woman and as Mother of God, who lives
and reigns for ever and ever. Amen”.
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