"The encounter with Christ in the Eucharist calls forth a commitment to evangelization and an impulse towards solidarity; it awakens in the Christian a strong desire to proclaim the Gospel and to bear witness to it in the world so as to build a more just and humane society. From the Eucharist, in the course of the centuries, an immense wealth of charity has sprung forth, of sharing in the difficulties of others, of love and of justice. Only from the Eucharist will the civilization of love spring forth which will transform Latin America and the Caribbean, making them not only the Continent of Hope, but also the Continent of Love!"
Inaugural Session of the Fifth General Conference
of The Bishops Of Latin America and the Caribbean
Address of His Holiness Benedict XVI
Conference Hall, Shrine of Aparecida Sunday, 13 May 2007