"Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!" (Eph 1:2). I offer a warm welcome to you, the Bishops of Zimbabwe, on the occasion of your quinquennial visit ad Limina Apostolorum. May your pilgrimage to the Tombs of the Apostles Peter and Paul, and this meeting with Peter’s Successor, be for all of you an incentive to ever greater unity in the cause of the Gospel and the service of Christ’s Kingdom. May these days also grant you a precious opportunity to withdraw from your pressing pastoral cares in order to spend time with the Lord (cf. Mk 6:31) in prayer and spiritual discernment, so that you may take up with renewed zeal your ministry as heralds of God’s word and shepherds of his people in your native land.