1. I come with joy to visit this beautiful Cathedral of the Archdiocese
of Bratislava-Trnava, dedicated to the holy Precursor of the Lord, Saint John
the Baptist.
I cordially greet your Archbishop Ján Sokol, the auxiliary Bishops and all of
you. From this mother church of all churches of the diocese, I extend my warm
greetings to all the people of this territory and upon all of you I invoke the
grace and the blessing of the Lord
2. Saint John the Baptist is the man who lives in a solitude full of
God’s presence and he becomes the voice that announces the coming of the
Saving Lamb (cf. Lk: 3,1-18).
I encourage you dear Brothers and Sisters to nourish within
yourselves the sense of God’s presence by listening to his Word, by prayer, by
the celebration of the Sacraments, by service to your brothers and sisters. In
this way you will become in your everyday life, like John the Baptist, heralds and witnesses to the loving and saving presence of God in today’s
world.
To all of you, with affection, I impart my Blessing.