ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS PIUS XII
TO MARK THE INAUGURATION
OF THE LATEST AIRLINE THAT WILL CONNECT IRELAND WITH ROME*

Saturday, 29 November 1947

To be sure, We are happy to extend a hearty welcome to the latest airline that will connect Ireland with Rome, the first, We believe, to connect the two capitals. The Irish have long been found in all the known continents of the world. Why should they not also find a place in the air?

But We know full well, and all true Irishmen know that Ireland needed no airline to link her to Rome. That link was forged fifteen hundred years ago in the chivalrous soul of the Irish people by their heroic apostle St. Patrick, and never once over all these, centuries has it been broken, never once weakened even under the heavy, persistent hammer of God's enemies. That link was indeed and remains today a treasure to arouse and provoke the wrath of the powers of evil who hate or disbelieve in God and go about the world seeking the ruin of souls so dear to Him. You know what that link is. It is the glowing faith of the Irish in the all-blessed Trinity. Father, Son and Holy Spirit; faith in Jesus Christ, true God and true Man who offered His life on the cross to make it possible for sinful man to gain eternal peace in heaven; faith in Christ's teaching preserved in the Church He founded on St. Peter and perpetuated under the supreme authority of St. Peter's successors. And let Us add, that link is the simple, tenderest, most child-like love of Mary, Mother of God, their Myden Dheelish.

With their lives permeated by such indomitable faith and moulded by its practice, is there any wonder that the Irish nation must be always lovers of true liberty, intolerant of the tyrant, defenders of the God-given rights of the individual, pure in their family life, with a heart for the poor and afflicted, patient, peaceful, loyal and brave; that a nation that never bartered its soul for material gains, should feel that the hostility of the godless only adds lustre to the beauty of its honourable independence?

God bless and keep Ireland faithful to her glorious traditions. And now that the « Saints » will wing their flight between the Liffey and the Tiber, We pray that all who trust themselves to their guidance may reach destination safely and be the happier and the holier for their visits. To you, gentlemen, and to all your loved ones We impart with paternal affection the Apostolic Benediction.

*Discorsi e Radiomessaggi di Sua Santità Pio XII, IX,
 Nono anno di Pontificato, 2 marzo 1947- 1° marzo 1948, pp. 371-372
 Tipografia Poliglotta Vaticana