Acta Apostolicae Sedis - Commentarium Officiale620

III

Iter Apostolicum Summi Pontificis in Regnum Unitum: Birminganiae in Cofton

Park, dum Eucharistia celebratur occasione beatificationis Cardinalis Ioannis

Henrici Newman.*

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

This day that has brought us together here in Birmingham is a most

auspicious one. In the first place, it is the Lord's day, Sunday, the day when

our Lord Jesus Christ rose from the dead and changed the course of human

history for ever, offering new life and hope to all who live in darkness and in

the shadow of death. That is why Christians all over the world come together

on this day to give praise and thanks to God for the great marvels he has

worked for us. This particular Sunday also marks a significant moment in the

life of the British nation, as it is the day chosen to commemorate the seven-

tieth anniversary of the Battle of Britain. For me as one who lived and

suffered through the dark days of the Nazi regime in Germany, it is deeply

moving to be here with you on this occasion, and to recall how many of your

fellow citizens sacrificed their lives, courageously resisting the forces of that

evil ideology. My thoughts go in particular to nearby Coventry, which suf-

fered such heavy bombardment and massive loss of life in November 1940.

Seventy years later, we recall with shame and horror the dreadful toll of

death and destruction that war brings in its wake, and we renew our resolve

to work for peace and reconciliation wherever the threat of conflict looms.

Yet there is another, more joyful reason why this is an auspicious day for

Great Britain, for the Midlands, for Birmingham. It is the day that sees

Cardinal John Henry Newman formally raised to the altars and declared

Blessed.

I thank Archbishop Bernard Longley for his gracious welcome at the start

of Mass this morning. I pay tribute to all who have worked so hard over

many years to promote the cause of Cardinal Newman, including the Fathers

of the Birmingham Oratory and the members of the Spiritual Family Das

Werk. And I greet everyone here from Great Britain, Ireland, and further

afield; I thank you for your presence at this celebration, in which we give

glory and praise to God for the heroic virtue of a saintly Englishman.

* Die 19 Septembris 2010.