ADDRESS OF PAUL VI
TO HIS EMINENCE ARCHBISHOP PAAVALI,
ARCHBISHOP OF KARELIA AND ALL FINLAND

Saturday, 11 November 1972

It is a joy and a pleasure for us to receive this morning His Eminence Archbishop Paavali, Archbishop of Karelia and All Finland, and to extend a greeting of grace and peace in Jesus Christ. For us this visit constitutes a precious moment of brotherhood and of deep spiritual communion.

Through Your Eminence we greet all the members of your Church and express our esteem for your beloved people. We know that there is a good spirit of collaboration existing between your Church and the Catholic Church and for this we render humble thanks to God our Father. It is our prayer that this spirit of cooperation will develop under the action of the Holy Spirit and one day culminate in that perfect ecclesial communion and Eucharistic sharing willed by Christ.

To this same Lord we raise our hearts in humble supplication, asking him to give us strength and courage to pursue his blessed will in perseverance and with strong faith and genuine love. At the same time we profess our complete fidelity “to him who by the power at work within us is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think” (Eph. 3, 20).

We thank Your Eminence for this visit and assure you of our prayerful support and fraternal affection in the Lord.