Pope's words at Airport (excerpts)

"Mr. President, Distinguished Political and Civil Authorities, Your Eminences and Venerable Brothers in the Episcopate, Dear Citizens of the Federal Republic,

My Dear Young People!

"With deep joy I find myself for the first time after my election to the Chair of Peter in my beloved homeland, in Germany. With deep emotion I thank God who has enabled me to begin my Pastoral Visits outside Italy with this visit to the nation of my birth. I have come to Cologne for the Twentieth World Youth Day, which had already been planned by my Predecessor, the unforgettable Pope John Paul II. I am sincerely grateful to all present for the warm welcome given to me."

* * * * *

"Like the Magi, all believers – and young people in particular – have been called to set out on the journey of life in search of truth, justice and love.

"The ultimate goal of the journey can only be found through an encounter with Christ, an encounter which cannot take place without faith.

"Along this interior journey we can be guided by the many signs with which a long and rich Christian tradition has indelibly marked this land of Germany: from great historical monuments to countless works of art found throughout the country, from documents preserved in libraries to lively popular traditions, from philosophical inquiry to the theological reflection of her many great thinkers, from the spiritual traditions to the mystical experience of a vast array of Saints. Here we find a rich cultural and spiritual heritage which even today, in the heart of Europe, testifies to the fruitfulness of the Christian faith and tradition.

"The Diocese and the region of Cologne, in particular, keep the living memory of great witnesses to Christian civilization. Among others, I think of Saint Boniface, Saint Ursula, Saint Albert the Great, and, in more recent times, Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein) and Blessed Adolph Kolping. May these, our illustrious brothers and sisters in the faith, who down the centuries have held high the torch of holiness, be 'models' and 'patrons' of the World Youth Day which we now celebrate."