Message from St Pope Paul VI to Neil Armstrong, Edwin Aldrin e Michael
Collins
Lunedì, 21 luglio 1969
“Glory to God in the highest and
peace on earth to men of good will!
Christ, when coming among us from the abysses of
the divinity, made this blessed voice resound in the firmament.
Today, we, His humble representative, echo and
repeat it as a festive hymn on the part of our whole terrestrial globe, no
longer the insurmountable boundary of human existence but the open threshold to
the wide expanse of boundless space and new destinies.
Glory to God!
And honor to you, the architects of this great
space undertaking! Honor to the men responsible to the scientists, the
planners, the organizers, and the technicians who made it a reality!
Honor to all those who have made possible this
most daring flight. Honor to all of you who in any way played a part.
Honor to you who, seated at your marvelous
instruments, control the flight; to you whom inform the world of the enterprise
and its time-table, which extends to the depths of the heavens the wise and
bold dominion of man.
Honor, greetings and blessings!
Here, from His Observatory at Castel Gandolfo,
near Rome, Pope Paul the Sixth is speaking to you astronauts.
Honor, greetings and blessing to you, conquerors
of the Moon, pale lamp of our nights and our dreams! Bring to her, with your
living presence, the voice of the spirit, a hymn to God, our Creator and our
Father.
We are close to you, with our good wishes and with
our prayers. Together with the whole Catholic Church, Paul the Sixth salutes
you.”
