 On 1 November 2004 the pope sent a letter to Cardinal Antonelli for the occasion of the centennial of La Pira's birth and recalled La Pira's "great intellectual and moral energy, strengthened and refined by extensive daily study, thought, ascesis and prayer".The pope further praised La Pira for his fusion of politics and faith while remembering that La Pira liked the motto "contemplate aliis tradere" which he had learned from Saint Thomas Aquinas.Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger - future Pope Benedict XVI - hailed La Pira in an address to the National Association of Italian Local Authorities on 26 April 2004 as "an eminent figure in politics" who "worked for the cause of fraternal existence among nations" and attempted to promote the "basic good in various spheres" of life whether it be politics or culture.