HOLY FATHER CELEBRATES FEAST OF IMMACULATE CONCEPTION

VATICAN CITY, DEC 8, 1999 (VIS) - Today, feast of the Immaculate Conception, Pope John Paul prayed the angelus with the faithful in St. Peter's Square, blessed a new underpass along the Tiber which aims to prevent traffic gridlock near the Vatican, laid flowers at the foot of the statue of Mary in Piazza di Spagna and prayed briefly before an image of the Virgin at the basilica of St. Mary Major.

Prior to reciting the noon angelus, the Pope reminded the faithful of today's solemnity, saying that "in the mother of Jesus, the first of redeemed mankind, God works great things, filling her with grace and preserving her from all stain of sin. ... Immaculate Mary reminds all people that, whatever their state of life, God loves them in a personal way, that He wishes only their good and follows them constantly with a plan of grace and mercy, which had its culmination in the redeeming sacrifice of Christ.

"The feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary takes on a particular meaning this year as we are about to start the Great Jubilee. May Mary enlighten the steps of our pilgrimage towards the Holy Door and indicate to every man and woman that 'door' which is Christ, through which she passed first, inviting everyone to enter it, to be 'holy and immaculate in love'."

After praying the angelus, the Holy Father recalled that, "in coming days in Italy there will be a telethon to fight muscular dystrophy and other genetic illnesses. This is a work of solidarity for which I hope there will be a positive outcome, and I assure all those who suffer and their families that they will be remembered in my prayers."

Just before 4 p.m., John Paul II made a brief stop on his way to Piazza di Spagna to bless, in the presence of Rome's mayor and other civil and religious officials, the new underpass built near the Vatican. The Pope's car was then the first to drive in the new underground passage.

Today is a national holiday in Italy and an estimated 25,000 people were at the Spanish Steps and on adjacent streets, to greet the Holy Father as he arrived to pay homage to Mary by laying flowers at her statue and by praying with the faithful.

"Sublime mystery of grace," the Pope prayed, "which we feel even more strongly this year as a millennium closes and Jubilee Year starts. Today we have come with ever deeper trust to the feet of the Virgin to ask her to help us cross ... the threshold of the Holy Door, which introduces us to the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000."

Following the prayer to Mary, the Pope greeted and blessed the faithful present. He then proceeded to St. Mary Major Basilica where he stopped in prayer before an image of Mary.

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