At the end of the Holy Mass in Sir John Guise Stadium, after the words of thanks from the archbishop of Port Moresby, His Eminence Cardinal John Ribat, M.S.C., the Pope led the recitation of the Angelus.

After the blessing, the Holy Father bade farewell to the civil and religious authorities and returned by car to the Apostolic Nunciature.

The following are the Pope’s words of introduction to the Marian prayer:

Dear brothers and sisters,

Before concluding this celebration, let us turn to the Blessed Virgin Mary with the Angelus prayer. I entrust to her the journey of the Church in Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands. May Mary Help of Christians, Maria Helpim, accompany you and protect you always. May she strengthen the unity of families, make young people’s dreams beautiful and courageous, support and console the elderly, comfort the sick and the suffering!

From this land so blessed by the Creator, I would like to ask, together with you, through the intercession of Mary Most Holy, for the gift of peace for all peoples. I ask this in particular for this great region of the world, Asia, Oceania and the Pacific Ocean. Peace, peace for the Nations and also for creation. No to rearmament and exploitation of our common home! Yes to the encounter between peoples and cultures, yes to the harmony of men and women with creatures!

Maria Helpim, Queen of Peace, help us be converted to God’s plans, which are plans of peace and justice for the great human family!

On this Sunday, on which falls the liturgical feast of the Nativity of Mary, our thoughts turn to the Shrine of Lourdes, which unfortunately has been affected by flooding.