Below is the Vatican-provided text of the message Pope Francis sent today, January 20, 2017, to the 45th President of the United States of America, Donald J. Trump, on the occasion of his inauguration.
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The Honorable Donald Trump
President of the United States of America
The White House
Washington, DC
Upon your inauguration as the forty-fifth President of the United States of America, I offer you my cordial good wishes and the assurance of my prayers that Almighty God will grant you wisdom and strength in the exercise of your high office. At a time when our human family is beset by grave humanitarian crises demanding farsighted and united political responses, I pray that your decisions will be guided by the rich spiritual and ethical values that have shaped the history of the American people and your nation’s commitment to the advancement of human dignity and freedom worldwide. Under your leadership, may America’s stature continue to be measured above all by its concern for the poor, the outcast and those in need who, like Lazarus, stand before our door. With these sentiments, I ask the Lord to grant you and your family, and all the beloved American people, his blessings of peace, concord and every material and spiritual prosperity.
FRANCISCUS PP.
[Original Text: English]
[Vatican-provided text]
