Missionaries of the Blessed Sacrament

Prayer of Our Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, inaugurating Perpetual
Eucharistic Adoration at St. Peter's in Rome on December 2, 1981

Lord stay with us. These words were spoken for the first time by the disciples of Emmaus. Subsequently in the course of the centuries they have been spoken, an infinite number of times, by the lips of so many of Your disciples and confessors, O Christ.

As Bishop of Rome and first servant of this temple, which stands on the place of St. Peter's martyrdom, I speak the same words today.

I speak them to invite You, Christ, in Your Eucharistic Presence to accept the daily adoration continuing through the entire day, in this temple, in this basilica, in this chapel.

Stay with us today and stay, from now on, every day, according to the desire of my heart, which accepts the appeal of so many hearts from various parts, sometimes far away, and above all meets the desire of so many inhabitants of the Apostolic See.

Stay! That we may meet You in the prayer of adoration and thanksgiving, in the prayer of expiation and petition, to which all those who visit this basilica are invited.

Stay! You Who are at one and the same time veiled in the Eucharistic Mystery of Faith and are also revealed under the species of bread and wine, which You have assumed in this Sacrament.

Stay! That Your presence in this temple may incessantly be reconfirmed, and that all those who enter here may become aware that it is Your house, "the dwelling of God with men" (Rev. 21:3) and, visiting this basilica, may find in it the very source of life and holiness that gushes forth from Your Eucharistic Heart...

One day, O Lord, You asked Peter: "Do you love Me?" You asked him three times - and three times the Apostle answered: "Lord, You know everything, You know that I love You." (Jn 21:15-17)

May the answer of Peter, on whose tomb this basilica was erected, be expressed by this daily and day-long adoration which we have begun today.

May the unworthy successor of Peter in the Roman See - and all those who take part in the adoration of Your Eucharistic Presence - attest with every visit of theirs and make ring out again the truth contained in the Apostle's words: "Lord You know everything; You know that I love You." Amen.