ADDRESS OF PAUL VI
TO THE PARTICIPANTS IN THE ECUMENICAL PILGRIMAGE
FROM THE UNITED KINGDOM TO THE HOLY LAND

Saturday, 20 April 1968

It is with particular pleasure that We welcome this ecumenical pilgrimage from the United Kingdom to the Holy Land. You are about to follow in the footsteps of God made Man, in the country of His birth, His mission and His blessed Death “for us men and for our salvation” (Nicene Creed).

Your visit calls to mind Our own unforgettable pilgrimage to the Holy Places. From the Grotto of Bethlehem, We then declared: “It now appears clearly to all that the problem of unity cannot be eluded; today, this will of Christ is imposed upon our minds, and demands that we undertake, with wisdom and love, every possible way of bringing all Christians to enjoy the great benefit and supreme honour of the unity of the Church”. We asked only “that the love of Christ and of the Church should inspire every future movement towards meeting and reconciliation” (Jan. 6, 1964). We pray that that love may be aroused, increased and made fruitful by your presence in the very places made holy by Our Saviour; and upon you, your families and loved ones at home, and all the members of your respective communities, We invoke His choicest graces and His blessing.