To the dear handicapped of "Fede e Luce" gathered at Lourdes, to their relatives and their friends.
In thought and in prayer, I unite myself with your great gathering of pilgrims at the grotto of Lourdes, in these days that are holy for the whole Church and that bring to you, on the "via Crucis", a peace and a new light.
Jesus, having loved his friends, loved them to the end. This love is for you as well: for you above all, who are part of the "poor"; of those who suffer in spirit and in their body, but who often understand better than others the need for simple and true relationships, for a faithful friendship, for a disinterested service, for a trust that withstands every test. Enter then with Jesus into this charity received and given.
Together with Him, you pass through dark moments that bring you near to the evening of the agony and of Good Friday: solitude, difficulty in communicating and fear of not receiving from others the understanding and the love to which you aspire, constraints of every kind that are imposed upon you by infirmity and by the conditions of life. Jesus invites you to preserve all trust in the Heavenly Father, to offer Him with love that which wounds you, to forgive others when there is need, to wait patiently for the light that cannot fail to come. You remain at the foot of the Cross, beside Mary, Mother of Jesus. You draw near to the Cross together with Saint Bernadette, so simple, so humble, so poor and so serene.
Finally, you participate in the great joy of Easter. God has raised Jesus, His beloved Son. He has made Him the Lord and Saviour of all, because He is His only-begotten Son, and has made Him sit at His right hand, forever, in the light. And to you He already grants to be His children. Baptism, forgiveness, communion, are so many signs that manifest His love and place within you the life of the glorious Christ, uniting you to His Body. He renews your hearts through His Holy Spirit. He promises you to transfigure your whole being — body, intellect, and spirit — in a face-to-face encounter.
You already take your place in the heart of the Church, to live this Easter, this passage of the Lord with all your Christian brothers and sisters. With them, sing the marvels of God! Give freely the joy that you receive freely! Those around you bring you great help and affection; think of the original contribution that you too can give them! And the Pope, the Successor of Peter, who has wished to tell you again of the privileged love of God, also counts on your prayer.
I turn in the same way to the parents, the educators, the companions who love you, the friends so numerous at Lourdes. I would have many things to say to you, but already the long document (1) that the Holy See published on the 4th of last March, for "all those who devote themselves to the service of the handicapped", in this year that is consecrated to them throughout the whole world, has expressed to you the "living and watchful solicitude" of the Church. Reading it will strengthen the convictions that already animate you regarding the dignity and the unique value of each human life, regarding the climate of respect and love with which handicapped persons must be surrounded, regarding the efforts for integration, for normalisation, for personalisation, from which they must benefit.
Today, above all to you, who accompany them by remaining close to them throughout their entire lives, I would wish to express the understanding, the sympathy, and the encouragement of the Church. The welcome and the care that you give to your handicapped child or friend have engaged you in a difficult and demanding journey, which carries with it every day its own "shadows" and its own "lights". You have understood the importance that the family environment holds for the handicapped person, or at least, when this is not possible, of an institution or a small community that approximates the model of the family, in which personalised relationships and human warmth make it possible to satisfy, as is fitting, his deep need for friendship and security, developing his human, moral and spiritual qualities, to the extent possible.
One must hope that many "volunteer educators" will come to your aid, that those closest to handicapped persons will integrate them ever more into normal relationships rather than marginalising them; that society as a whole will show itself ever more solidary with your commitment by helping to provide adequate means.
But I also hope that the Christian faith will help you to bear your trial with courage, serenity and love, because you are, beside these children, the witnesses and the co-workers of the tenderness of God.
The wound that you yourselves carry is a participation in the passion of Christ who has taken upon Himself innocent suffering. It is also an invitation to gratuitous love, an openness to the gift of God, a call to hope. Take care to initiate them yourselves into this reality to which they are moreover mysteriously close, and the Church will support you with an appropriate catechesis. You will also help them to become those who give and who collaborate, each in his own way, for a more human world.
May the "Fede e Luce" communities, and the other initiatives in favour of the mentally handicapped, allow you, beyond this joyful and comforting gathering at Lourdes, to find still the necessary support in daily life and to bring it to other parents! May the Holy Spirit grant you His strength and His peace! May Mary, Our Lady of Lourdes, keep your hearts turned toward the Saviour of hope!
As my predecessor Paul VI, I invoke upon you all, dear handicapped sons and daughters, parents and friends, the blessing of Christ who died and rose again for us.
From the Vatican, 7 April 1981