Vatican City, Jun 27, 2004 / 22:00 pm
John Paul II welcomed Their Royal Highnesses, Felipe and Letizia de Borbon, Prince and Princess of Asturias, to the Vatican this morning, and spoke to the newly married royalty about the holiness of married life.
He told them he was happy to receive them so soon after their wedding and thanked them "for the deference of desiring to visit me at the start of your married life."
"The birth of a new family," he told the couple, "is always a great event. It is for the married couple, whose mutual love is enriched and strengthened with divine grace. It is also a great event for the respective families and for society, since living together faithfully and forever, entails new experiences and promises of life."
The Pope renewed the best wishes he sent them on their wedding day and said he "asks God to help you in your new life that you form a happy home which, for the important role it has in Spanish society, may be an exemplary reference point for many families in this beloved nation."