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   BENEDICT XVI CALLS CATHOLIC STUDENTS TO SANCTITY   
      
   VATICAN CITY, 17 SEP 2010 (VIS) - At the end of his meeting with religious in   
   the chapel of St. Mary's University College at Twickenham, the Holy Father   
   travelled by popemobile across the campus towards the sports field, where 4,000   
   students from British Catholic schools were awaiting his arrival. The students   
   had been able to follow his remarks to the religious on large television   
   screens. St. Mary's is famous for its sports facilities, which have been chosen   
   as a training ground for the 2010 London Olympics. The Pope's meeting with the   
   students was broadcast live by the internet and could be seen in all the   
   Catholic schools of England, Scotland and Wales.   
      
   The Pope was greeted by Bishop Malcolm P. McMahon O.P. of Nottingham, president   
   of the episcopal commission for education, then proceeded to inaugurate the   
   John Paul II Foundation for Sport, which Catholic bishops intend to use to   
   bring together that Pope's teachings on the subject of sport (120 discourses   
   during his pontificate).   
      
   "It is not often that a Pope", said Benedict XVI, "has the opportunity to speak   
   to the students of all the Catholic schools of England, Wales and Scotland at   
   the same time. And since I have the chance now, there is something I very much   
   want to say to you. I hope that among those of you listening to me today there   
   are some of the future saints of the twenty-first century".   
      
   "Perhaps some of you have never thought about this before. ... Let me explain   
   what I mean. ... When I invite you to become saints, I am asking you not to be   
   content with second best. I am asking you not to pursue one limited goal and   
   ignore all the others. ... Happiness is something we all want, but one of the   
   great tragedies in this world is that so many people never find it, because   
   they look for it in the wrong places. The key to it is very simple - true   
   happiness is to be found in God. We need to have the courage to place our   
   deepest hopes in God alone, not in money, in a career, in worldly success, or   
   in our relationships with others, but in God. Only He can satisfy the deepest   
   needs of our hearts.   
      
   "Not only does God love us with a depth and an intensity that we can scarcely   
   begin to comprehend, but He invites us to respond to that love", the Pope   
   added. "And once you enter into friendship with God, everything in your life   
   begins to change. ... You are attracted to the practice of virtue. You begin to   
   see greed and selfishness and all the other sins for what they really are,   
   destructive and dangerous tendencies that cause deep suffering and do great   
   damage. ... You begin to feel compassion for people in difficulties and you are   
   eager to do something to help them. ... And once these things begin to matter   
   to you, you are well on the way to becoming saints".   
      
   The Holy Father went on: "In your Catholic schools, there is always a bigger   
   picture over and above the individual subjects you study, the different skills   
   you learn. All the work you do is placed in the context of growing in   
   friendship with God, and all that flows from that friendship. ... Never allow   
   yourselves to become narrow. The world needs good scientists, but a scientific   
   outlook becomes dangerously narrow if it ignores the religious or ethical   
   dimension of life, just as religion becomes narrow if it rejects the legitimate   
   contribution of science to our understanding of the world. We need good   
   historians and philosophers and economists, but if the account they give of   
   human life within their particular field is too narrowly focused, they can lead   
   us seriously astray".   
      
   Benedict concluded his remarks by addressing the "many non-Catholics studying   
   in the Catholic schools in Great Britain. ... I pray that you too will feel   
   encouraged to practise virtue and to grow in knowledge and friendship with God   
   alongside your Catholic classmates. You are a reminder to them of the bigger   
   picture that exists outside the school, and indeed, it is only right that   
   respect and friendship for members of other religious traditions should be   
   among the virtues learned in a Catholic school. I hope too that you will want   
   to share with everyone you meet the values and insights you have learned   
   through the Christian education you have received".   
      
   Having completed his address, the Pope moved on to the University's Waldgrave   
   Drawing Room where he met with representatives of other religions.   
   PV-UNITED KINGDOM/VIS 20100917 (780)   
      
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