Dear brothers and sisters,

Before praying the Angelus together, I would like to greet and thank all of you who have taken part in this Jubilee celebration dedicated to missionaries and migrants.  You are good missionaries because you came even in the rain!  Thank you.  The Church is entirely missionary and is one great people journeying towards the Kingdom of God.  Today, our missionary and migrant brothers and sisters remind us of this.  But no one should be forced to flee, nor exploited or mistreated because of their situation as foreigners or people in need!  Human dignity must always come first.

I greet all the pilgrims present, especially those from the Diocese of Pavia, led by their Bishop, as well as the faithful, including some young people from Bethlehem, who are carrying the statue of Our Lady of Revelation.

On the evening of Tuesday, 30 September, a strong earthquake struck the central region of the Philippines, particularly the province of Cebu and its neighboring provinces.  I express my closeness to the dear Filipino people, and in particular I pray for those who are most severely affected by the consequences of the earthquake.  Faced with any danger, let us remain united and supportive in our trust in God and in the intercession of our Blessed Mother.

I express my concern about the rise of antisemitic hatred in the world, as unfortunately we saw with the terrorist attack in Manchester a few days ago.  I continue to be saddened by the immense suffering of the Palestinian people in Gaza.

In recent hours, in the dramatic situation in the Middle East, some significant steps forward have been taken in peace negotiations, which I hope will achieve the desired results as soon as possible.  I ask all those in positions of responsibility to commit themselves to this path, to bring about a ceasefire and to release the hostages.  At the same time, I urge everyone to remain united in prayer, so that the ongoing efforts may put an end to the war and lead us towards a just and lasting peace.

Let us join ourselves spiritually with those gathered at the Shrine in Pompeii for the Supplication to the Virgin of the Holy Rosary.  In this month of October, as we contemplate with Mary the mysteries of Christ our Savior, let us deepen our prayer for peace: a prayer that becomes concrete solidarity with those people tormented by war.  Thank you to the many children around the world who have committed themselves to praying the Rosary for this intention.  You have our heartfelt thanks!

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