The Pope’s apostolic journey to Cyprus and Greece begins on December 2.

“I come with joy, precisely in the name of the Gospel, in the footsteps of the first great missionaries, especially the Apostles Paul and Barnabas,” the Pope said. “It is good to return to the origins and it is important for the Church to rediscover the joy of the Gospel. It is with this spirit that I am preparing for this pilgrimage to the wellsprings, which I ask everyone to help me prepare with their prayers.”

The Pope then discussed three wellsprings: “the wellsprings of fraternity,” “the ancient wellsprings of Europe,” and “the wellsprings of humanity.”