REGINA CÆLI MESSAGE
May 28, 2000

Dearest Brothers And Sisters!

1. At the end of this solemn celebration, we turn to the Blessed Virgin
Mary, entrusting to her the fruits of the Jubilee of the Diocese of
Rome. We ask her, Salvation of the Roman People, that all those who live
in Rome may nourish a strong faith and sincere love for Jesus, only
Savior of the world. We ask her, Mother of Divine Love, that Christian
spouses will be faithful to the grace of marriage and that families will
grow united and open to life. We entrust to her, Mother of Confidence,
the youth of Rome, so they will discover that life is a vocation that is
fulfilled by giving themselves to God and to their brothers and sisters.

2. I also invoke the Blessed Virgin Mary's help for upcoming Jubilee
events: the Jubilee of Migrants and Itinerants, which will take place
from Thursday, June 1, to Saturday the 3rd, and the Jubilee of
Journalists, which on Sunday, June 4 will provide me with the occasion
to meet many workers of this important sector.

Looking a bit further ahead, I wish to remind you of the International
Eucharistic Congress, which will open on June 18 and end on the 25th,
with a great evening celebration in this Square. Beginning today I
invite Romans to participate in great numbers, hoping, especially, to
see many boys and girls making their First Communion.

3. I entrust you, pilgrims here present, to Our Lady, particularly the
participants of the meeting of the Italian Red Cross, whom I encourage
in their efforts on behalf of the weak and most forgotten. I greet the
children of Deruta, near Perugia, who have undertaken the "March of
Angels." The month of May is coming to an end, and will finish on the
31st with the liturgical feast of the Visitation, which commemorates,
specifically, Mary's visit to her cousin Elizabeth. Almost everywhere on
that day Marian celebrations will be held, and also in the Vatican,
where the now traditional evening procession to the Lourdes Grotto will
take place.

At Lourdes and at Fatima, the Mother of God gave us the same message:
prayer and penance, direct echo of the evangelical admonition: watch and
pray! Only in this way will peace triumph in hearts: among men and among
nations. Let us all respond: adults, youth, children and elderly to the
appeal of the heavenly Mother, so that the fruits of the Great Jubilee
will multiply in Rome and in every part of the world.
(ZENIT Translation)