After the Angelus prayer, Benedict XVI greeted a group of British pilgrims who had come to Rome by bike from Canterbury Cathedral, after over two weeks’ travelling along the traditional Via Francigena, "in the footsteps of so many men and women of faith on their way to the tombs of Peter and Paul". "I pray said the Pope that your visit may be a time of spiritual and ecumenical enrichment". Then, the Holy Father greeted a delegation of Muslim, Orthodox, Lutheran and Catholic people from Kazakhstan, wishing that, through "mutual understanding and respect between the religious communities", one can "overcome mistrust and promote the way of peace that springs from the truth". Finally, to the Polish-speaking pilgrims, the Pope recalled that yesterday the Polish Church celebrated the feast of the Blessed Virgin of Czêstochowa, joining "in prayer the bishops and devotees gathered in Jasna Gora" and entrusting "to the maternal protection of Mary the present and future fate" of Poland.
