” “”Tomorrow, I am leaving for Poland, the native country of our beloved Pope John Paul II: there, I will go through the places of his life and his priesthood and bishopric. I thank the Lord for the opportunity He offers me to fulfil a wish I had cherished in my heart for such a long time”. With these words, the Pope, at the end of today’s general audience, as he greeted the Italian-speaking devotees, announced his forthcoming departure for his second apostolic journey outside Italy (after the one to Cologne last August for the WYD) due in Poland from tomorrow, May 25th, to Sunday May 28th. “Dear brothers and sisters he went on I ask you to be on my side in prayer during this apostolic journey of mine, that I am about to undertake with great hope and that I entrust to the Virgin who is much worshipped in Poland”. Then, a prayer to the Virgin: “May She guide my steps so that I can confirm in faith the beloved Catholic community of Poland and encourage it to face with a powerful evangelising action the challenges of this time. May Mary obtain for the whole country a new spring of faith and civil progress, while always keeping the memory of my great Predecessor alive”. Also when greeting the Polish devotees, Benedict XVI made reference to his apostolic journey, “in the spirit of the testimony” of the apostle Saint Peter: “Remain strong in your faith”, he told them and defined the latter “an important message for the whole Church”.
