Pope Benedict XVI’s Visit to the USA, 2008 April 15-20

Address at JFK Departure Ceremony, 2008 April 20

Address at JFK Departure Ceremony

Mr. Vice-President,
Distinguished Civil Authorities,
My Brother Bishops,
Dear Brothers and Sisters,

The time has come for me to bid farewell to your country. These days
that I have spent in the United States have been blessed with many
memorable experiences of American hospitality, and I wish to express my
deep appreciation to all of you for your kind welcome. It has been a joy
for me to witness the faith and devotion of the Catholic community here.
It was heart-warming to spend time with leaders and representatives of
other Christian communities and other religions, and I renew my
assurances of respect and esteem to all of you. I am grateful to
President Bush for kindly coming to greet me at the start of my visit,
and I thank Vice-President Cheney for his presence here as I depart. The
civic authorities, workers and volunteers in Washington and New York
have given generously of their time and resources in order to ensure the
smooth progress of my visit at every stage, and for this I express my
profound thanks and appreciation to Mayor Adrian Fenty of Washington and
Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York.

Once again I offer prayerful good wishes to the representatives of the
see of Baltimore, the first Archdiocese, and those of New York, Boston,
Philadelphia and Louisville, in this jubilee year. May the Lord continue
to bless you in the years ahead. To all my Brother Bishops, to Bishop
DiMarzio of this Diocese of Brooklyn, and to the officers and staff of
the Episcopal Conference who have contributed in so many ways to the
preparation of this visit, I extend my renewed gratitude for their hard
work and dedication. With great affection I greet once more the priests
and religious, the deacons, the seminarians and young people, and all
the faithful in the United States, and I encourage you to continue
bearing joyful witness to Christ our Hope, our Risen Lord and Savior,
who makes all things new and gives us life in abundance.

One of the high-points of my visit was the opportunity to address the
General Assembly of the United Nations, and I thank Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon for his kind invitation and welcome. Looking back over the
sixty years that have passed since the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights, I give thanks for all that the Organization has been able to
achieve in defending and promoting the fundamental rights of every man,
woman and child throughout the world, and I encourage people of good
will everywhere to continue working tirelessly to promote justice and
peaceful co-existence between peoples and nations.

My visit this morning to Ground Zero will remain firmly etched in my
memory, as I continue to pray for those who died and for all who suffer
in consequence of the tragedy that occurred there in 2001. For all the
people of America, and indeed throughout the world, I pray that the
future will bring increased fraternity and solidarity, a growth in
mutual respect, and a renewed trust and confidence in God, our heavenly
Father. With these words, I take my leave, I ask you to remember me in
your prayers, and at the same time I assure you of my friendship and
affection in the Lord. God bless America.

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