As we commemorate the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States of America, Holy Mother Church invites us first to render humble thanksgiving to Almighty God, from whom every nation receives its origin and every blessing its increase.

With grateful hearts we remember those who, under Divine Providence, established this nation and those who, through sacrifice and faithful service, have sought to preserve the blessings of liberty and justice.

The Catholic faith teaches that love of country is a noble expression of the Fourth Commandment, calling us to honor and serve the land in which God has placed us while always recognizing that our first allegiance belongs to Our Lord Jesus Christ, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

The freedoms entrusted to this nation, especially the precious liberty to worship God according to a well-formed conscience, are not ends in themselves but sacred responsibilities ordered to the pursuit of truth, virtue, and the common good.

As citizens, we are called to promote the dignity of every human person, uphold the sanctity of human life from conception to natural death, defend marriage and the family, seek justice tempered by charity, and labor for peace rooted in righteousness.

Yet even as we cherish our national heritage, we remember that the Church embraces every people and tongue, proclaiming the Gospel that alone brings authentic freedom and everlasting hope.

As we celebrate this historic milestone, may we renew our resolve to be faithful Catholic citizens whose lives bear witness to Christ in our homes, our parishes, and our nation.

Through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, under her title of the Immaculate Conception, Patroness of the United States, may God continue to bless our country with wisdom, repentance, fidelity to His law, and an abiding desire to seek first His Kingdom, so that America may ever grow in justice, charity, and peace, for the greater glory of God.