.- Yesterday, the Holy Father sent a message to Archbishop Jaume Pujol Balcells of Tarragona, Spain for the conclusion of the archdiocese’s Jubilee year marking the 1750th anniversary of the martyrdom of St. Fructuosus, bishop and patron of the city, and of his deacons St. Augurius and St. Eulogius.
"The commemoration of these martyrs," writes the Pope in his message dated January 19, "brings to mind a community which, having received at the dawn of Christianity the evangelical message transmitted by the Apostles, fearlessly confessed, lived and celebrated its faith in an atmosphere of incomprehension and hostility. The witness of those who gave their blood for Christ continues to illuminate and strengthen the faith of the Church, because it unequivocally indicates that the significance and fullness of our lives, our reason for hope and our deepest joy, is our relationship with God, the source of life.”
"With this Jubilee Year, the ecclesial community of Tarragona ... has had a special opportunity to appreciate the treasure it conserves at its heart and that must shine out again today to give greater splendor and profundity to Christian life in people, families, and social relationships, the message concludes."
