"An act of praise to God for the ‘wonders’ worked on the peoples of Latin America, for the faith that has enlivened their life and their culture for over five hundred years". This is how the Pope defined his recent apostolic journey to Brazil, to which he devoted today’s general audience, as he went through its highlights. "Two years after my appointment began Benedict XVI , at last I have had the joy of going to Latin America, which I love so dearly and where a large part of the Catholics of the world actually live. The destination was Brazil, but I meant to embrace all of the great Latin American subcontinent, partly because the ecclesial occasion that brought me there was the V General Conference of the Latin American and Caribbean Episcopacy". Hence the "deep gratitude for the friendly reception", expressed by the Pope to his "bishop brothers", to the president of Brazil and to the authorities, but above all to all "Brazilians", whom he thanked "with great affection for the friendliness with which they welcomed me and for the attention they paid to my words".
