Prayer at the Tomb of Saint Albert the Great. Church of St Andrew, Cologne

God, thou art wondrous in thy saints!

Appointed by you to the highest pastoral office of the Church of Jesus Christ, I kneel today as a pilgrim at the tomb of St Albert, to glorify you with all the faithful on this day commemorating the 700 th anniversary of his death, and to thank you for his life and his works, through which you gave him to your Church as a teacher of the faith and example of Christian life.

God, our creator, cause and light of the human spirit, you gave St Albert a profound knowledge of faith in true imitation of our Lord and Master Jesus Christ. The world itself became for him the revelation of your omnipotence and goodness. Through his contact with your creation he learned to recognize and love you more profoundly. At the same time he researched through the works of human wisdom, including the writings of non-Christian philosophers, and paved the way for their encounter with your Gospel. Through the gift of discrimination you made him uniquely able to avoid error, to establish truth more deeply and make it known among men. In doing so you made him a teacher of the Church and of all mankind. With the intercession of St Albert we pray together to you for your mercy.

Send to your Church teachers of truth in our time as well, who will be capable of interpreting and preaching your Gospel to the people of the world through their words and saintly living. Hear us, O Lord.

Open the hearts of man through the grace of a living faith so that they may recognize God's presence in his creation and their own lives and come to correspond more and more perfectly with his holy will.

Accompany and illuminate the work of scientists and scholars with your Holy Spirit. Preserve them from pride and self-conceit and give them a sense of responsibility in their dealings with the gifts of your creation.

Give those responsible in State and society insight and responsibility so that they may use the achievements of science and technology for peace and progress among the peoples of the world and not for their harm or destruction.

Help us all to recognize the truth amidst the many dangers and errors of our time and to serve you devoutly in a life strengthened by faith.

With the intercession of St Albert, bless all citizens of this country, give the German people peace and unity and let it always be aware of its' responsibility in the community of nations.

Accompany my pastoral visit in the Federal Republic of Germany with your special blessings and assistance, strengthen all believers in their love of Christ and his Church so that through the testimony of their Christian living your name may be glorified in truth and justice in the world today.

Pray for us, St Albert , that we might be worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray: God, our refuge and strength, you gave the sainted bishop and teacher of the Church, Albert, the power to associate human knowledge with eternal wisdom. With his intercession and strengthen, protect our faith in the intellectual confusion of our days. Give us the openness of his intellect so that the progress of science may also help us to know you more profoundly and come closer to you. Let us grow in the knowledge of the truth which you yourself are, so that we may some day see you face to face in the presence of all the saints. For this we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen.