Dear Faithful!

1. Today, first of May, the topic of our meeting cannot be other than Labour Day. Today I wish to honour all workers.

Since the last century, this first day of May has always had a profound meaning of unity and communion among all workers, to emphasise their role in the structure of society and to defend their rights. In 1955, Pius XII, of venerable memory, wished to give the first of May also a religious imprint, dedicating it to Saint Joseph the Worker, and since then the civil feast of labour has also become a Christian feast.

I am very happy to be able to express with you today the sentiments of the most lively and cordial participation in this feast, recalling the affection that the Church has always had for workers and the solicitude with which she has sought and seeks to promote their rights. It is well known that especially since the beginning of the industrial era, the Church, following the unfolding of the situation and the development of new discoveries and demands, has presented a 'corpus' of teachings in the social field, which have certainly had and still have their enlightening influence, starting with the encyclical Rerum Novarum of Leo XIII (1891).

Those who honestly seek to know and follow the teaching of the Church, see how in reality she has always loved workers, and has indicated and upheld the dignity of the human person as the foundation and ideal of every solution to problems concerning work, its remuneration, its protection, its improvement and its humanisation. Through the various documents of the Magisterium of the Church, the fundamental aspects of work emerge, understood as a means to earn a living, as dominion over nature with scientific and technical activities, as a creative expression of man, as service for the common good and as a commitment to building the future of history.

As I said in the encyclical Laborem Exercens (Ioannis Pauli PP. II, Laborem Exercens, no. 9), 'work is a good of man, because through work man not only transforms nature by adapting it to his needs, but also realises himself as a man and indeed, in a certain sense, becomes more of a man'.

The May Day holiday is very opportune to reaffirm the value of work and of the 'civilisation' founded on work, against the ideologies that advocate instead the 'civilisation of pleasure' or of indifference and escape. All work is worthy of esteem, even manual labour, even work that is unknown and hidden, humble and strenuous, because all work, if interpreted in the right way, is an act of covenant with God for the perfecting of the world; it is a commitment to liberation from slavery to the forces of nature; it is a gesture of communion and fraternity with mankind; it is a form of elevation, in which intellectual and volitional capacities are applied. Jesus himself, the divine Word incarnate for our salvation, wanted first and foremost and for many years to be a humble and diligent worker!

2. Despite the fundamental truth of the perennial value of work, we know that there are many problems in today's society. This had already been noted by the Second Vatican Council, when it expressed it as follows: "Humanity today is living a new period in its history, characterised by profound and rapid changes, which are progressively extending to the entire universe. Provoked by man's intelligence and creative activity, it affects him, his individual and collective judgements and desires, his way of thinking and acting in relation to both things and men. We can speak of a true social and cultural transformation that also has its reflections in religious life (Gaudium et Spes, 4).

The first and most serious problem is certainly that of unemployment, which is caused by many factors, such as the large-scale introduction of information technology, which by means of robots and computers eliminates much labour; the saturation of certain products; inflation, which halts consumption and thus production; the need for the reconversion of machines and techniques; competition.

Another problem is the danger of man becoming a slave to the machines he invents and builds. It is indeed necessary to dominate and guide technology, otherwise it will turn against man.

Lastly, we can also mention the serious issue of professional alienation, whereby the authentic meaning of work is lost, it is understood only as a commodity, in a cold logic of gaining wealth, consuming and thus still producing, giving in to the temptation of disaffection, absenteeism, individualist selfishness, disheartenment, frustration and making the characteristics of the so-called 'one-dimensional man' prevail, the victim of technology, advertising and production.These are very complex issues on which there is no time to dwell. But today, 1st May, we want to mention the need for human and Christian 'solidarity', on a national and universal level, to resolve these difficulties in a comprehensive and convincing manner. Paul VI said in Populorum Progressio, No. 17: 'Every man is a member of society: he belongs to the whole of humanity. Not only this or that man, but all men are called to such a plenary development... Universal solidarity, which is a fact and for us a benefit, is also a duty'. Speaking in Geneva at the International Labour Conference, I myself said that "the positive solution to the problem of employment presupposes great solidarity in the whole of the population and the whole of the peoples: that everyone be willing to accept the necessary sacrifices, that everyone collaborate in the implementation of programmes and agreements aimed at making economic and social policy a tangible expression of solidarity" (Ioannis Pauli PP. II, Allocutio ad eos qui LXVIII conventui Conferentiae ab omnibus de humano labore interfuere habita, 10, die 15 iunii 1982: Insegnamenti di Giovanni Paolo II, V/2 [1982] 2261).

3. Today, the Feast of Work,

liturgical memorial of St Joseph the Worker,

I heartily invoke his heavenly protection

on all those who spend their lives working

and on those who unfortunately

find themselves without work,

and I exhort everyone

to pray every day

to the putative father of Jesus,

humble and simple worker,

so that by his example and with his help

every Christian

may bring to life

his contribution of diligent commitment

and joyful communion.

[Pope John Paul II, General Audience 1 May 1984]