This morning, on the aircraft carrying him to Morocco, the Holy Father Francis gave his customary greetings to the media workers accompanying him on the papal flight.

Introduced by the interim director of the Holy See Press Office, Alessandro Gisotti, the Pope addressed the following words to the journalists:

Words of the Holy Father

Alessandro Gisotti:
Welcome, Holy Father; welcome to you all. Bienvenues au collègues journalistes du Maroc pour cette visite, la première visite historique du Pape François dans votre Pays.

Holy Father, the motto for this trip is “Servant of hope”: it is good that it will take place in a country where there is coexistence and brotherhood between Christians and Muslims, straight after the signing of the Document on human brotherhood in Abu Dhabi.

Pope Francis:
Good morning to you all. Thank you for the company. I hope that your work will be fruitful. It will be tiring, certainly, but I hope it will be fruitful. I have also been told that today is a celebration: I don’t know if there will be a cake, but there are two birthdays, aren’t there? Best wishes! Thank you.