VATICAN - Benedict XVI in the Czech Republic (10) - Farewell Ceremony: “The Church in this country has been truly blessed with a remarkable array of missionaries and martyrs, as well as contemplative saints.”

Prague (Agenzia Fides) – At 5:15pm, on Monday, September 28, at the Stara Ruzyne Airport, a Farewell Ceremony was held for the Holy Father as he left the Czech Republic. After the speech given by the President of the Republic, the Holy Father thanked everyone “for their generous hospitality,” and assured: “I shall treasure the memory of the moments of prayer that I was able to spend together with the Bishops, priests and faithful of this country.” Particularly moving, Benedict XVI said, was the Mass celebrated on the site of the martyrdom of the young duke Wenceslaus, and venerating his tomb inside the Cathedral. “in Moravia, where Saints Cyril and Methodius launched their apostolic mission, I was able to reflect in prayerful thanksgiving on the origins of Christianity in this region, and indeed throughout the Slavic territories. The Church in this country has been truly blessed with a remarkable array of missionaries and martyrs, as well as contemplative saints, among whom I would single out Saint Agnes of Bohemia, whose canonization just twenty years ago providentially heralded the liberation of this country from atheist oppression.”
In his farewell address, Benedict XVI also highlighted “the importance of ecumenical dialogue in this land which suffered so much from the consequences of religious division at the time of the Thirty Years’ War” and the important role of the academic community in building society, “through its uncompromising search for truth.” “I was especially delighted to meet the young people, and to encourage them to build on the best traditions of this nation’s past, particularly its Christian heritage.”
Lastly, the greeting to the President of the Republic and all those present: “I thank you once again and I promise to remember you in my prayers and to carry you in my heart. May God bless the Czech Republic! May the Holy Infant of Prague continue to inspire and guide you and all the families of this nation! May God bless all of you!” (SL) (Agenzia Fides 29/9/2009)