Benedict XVI said that he comes to Spain "as a witness of the Risen Christ, with the desire to bring to all his Word, in which they can find light to live with dignity and hope to build a better world".

Witness and word, light and life, hope and construction of the world. Perhaps these words are anticipating the bottom lines of this visit.

The ministry of the Successor of Peter is indeed a witness. To be a witness is to declare the truth heard or contemplated. The risen Christ was seen by more than five hundred (cf. 1 Cor 15:6), but the apostles also received the express mandate to be witnesses of the Lord "to the ends of the earth" (Acts 1:8). A witness that shapes the Pope's task: to confirm in faith and unity the bishops and, around them, the Christian faithful. "In choosing me as Bishop of Rome, the Lord wanted me to be his vicar, he wanted me to be the 'rock' on which all can lean with confidence" (April 20, 2005).

Because it is witness, the Pope's ministry is also light and life. Light makes it possible to see and to live; people also need the light of the spirit, which is truth. The light comes above all from Christ, who is the Word of truth, and also of life for man and the world.

At the beginning of his pontificate, Benedict XVI invoked the support of the Church, of heaven and earth: "I am accompanied by your indulgence, your love, your faith and your hope" (April 24, 2005). Paraphrasing the first words of John Paul II, the new Pope invited us to listen to the Word that gives meaning to the life of each one of us and to history: "Do not be afraid of Christ! He takes nothing away and gives everything. Whoever gives himself to him receives a hundredfold. Yes, open, open wide the doors to Christ, and you will find true life".

These days we will be able to experience this reality: Christ does not take away "anything that belongs to man's freedom, to his dignity, to the Building of a just society"; on the contrary, he opens us to the authentic freedom that can contribute to the good of those around us.

The Pope comes as a witness of the light, life and perennial youth of Christ, who lives in his Church for the life of the world.