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ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI
TO THE NEW METROPOLITAN ARCHBISHOPS
WHO HAD RECEIVED THE SACRED PALLIUM
ON THE SOLEMNITY OF THE HOLY APOSTLES PETER AND PAUL

Paul VI Audience Hall
Thursday, 30 June 2011

 

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Still alive in my mind and heart are all the sentiments and emotions we experienced yesterday in the Vatican Basilica on the occasion of the celebration of the Solemnity of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, in which I had the joy of conferring the Pallium upon you, Metropolitan Archbishops appointed in the past year. Our simple, family meeting today gives me the opportunity to prolong the atmosphere of ecclesial communion and to renew my cordial greeting to you, dear brothers in the episcopate, as well as to your relatives and those figures who have wished to take part in this happy event. I extend my affectionate thoughts to your particular Churches, which I remember in prayer so that they may be enlivened with a constant apostolic drive.

I address you first of all, dear Pastors of two Italian dioceses. I greet you, Archbishop Cesare Nosiglia of Turin, and you, Archbishop Vincenzo Bertolone of Catanzaro-Squillace. May the Lord bless you and help you always, in your daily episcopal ministry, to make the united and missionary communities entrusted to you grow, harmonious in charity, steadfast in hope and rich in the dynamism of faith.

On this feast of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, I am happy to welcome the French-speaking pilgrims who have come to Rome on the occasion of the conferral of the Pallium on the new Metropolitan Archbishops. I address my warm greetings to Archbishop Antoine Ganyé of Cotonou, Benin; to Archbishop Paul Ouédraogo of Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso; to Archbishop Jean-Pierre Tafunga Mbayo of Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of the Congo; to Archbishop Gérard Lacroix of Quebec, Canada; and to Archbishop Pierre-Marie Carré of Montpellier, France. Please convey my greetings and the assurance of my spiritual closeness to the bishops, priests and all the faithful of your countries. May you, who have received the Pallium, a liturgical sign that expresses the bond of communion which unites you in a special way to the Successor of Peter, be joyful and faithful witnesses of the love of the Lord who seeks to gather his children in the unity of one and the same family! May God bless you!

I extend warm greetings to the English-speaking Metropolitan Archbishops upon whom I conferred the Pallium yesterday: Archbishop James Peter Sartain of Seattle, United States; Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller of San Antonio, United States; Archbishop Jose Serofia Palma of Cebu, the Philippines; Archbishop Thaddeus Cho Hwan-kil of Daegu, Korea; Archbishop Jude Ruwa’ichi of Mwanza, Tanzania; Archbishop William Slattery of Pretoria, South Africa; Archbishop Paul S. Coakley of Oklahoma City, United States; Archbishop Rémi Joseph Gustave Sainte-Marie of Lilongwe, Malawi; Archbishop José Horacio Gómez of Los Angeles, United States; Archbishop Thumma Bala of Hyderabad, India; Archbishop Augustine Obiora Akubeze of Benin City, Nigeria; Archbishop Charles Henry Dufour of Kingston in Jamaica; Archbishop George Stack of Cardiff, Wales and Archbishop Sergio Lasam Utleg of Tuguegarao, the Philippines. I also welcome their family members, their relatives, friends and the faithful of their respective Archdioceses who have come to Rome to pray with them and to share their joy. The Pallium is received from the hands of the Successor of Peter and worn by the Archbishops as a sign of communion in faith and love and in the governance of God’s People. It also reminds Pastors of their responsibilities as shepherds after the Heart of Jesus. To all of you I affectionately impart my Apostolic Blessing as a pledge of peace and joy in the Lord.

I greet with affection the Spanish-speaking Archbishops and those who have accompanied them on the important ceremony of the conferral of the Pallium which distinguishes them as Metropolitans. I greet in particular Archbishop Rubén Salazar Gómez of Bogotá, Archbishop Fausto Gabriel Trávez Trávez of Quito, Archbishop Oscar Julio Vian Morales of Guatemala, Archbishop Gonzalo Restrepo Restrepo of Manizales, Archbishop Juan Alberto Puiggari of Paraná, Archbishop Jairo Jaramillo Monsalve of Barranquilla, Archbishop Ricardo Ezzati Andrello of Santiago de Chile, Archbishop Fernando Natalio Chomali Garib of Concepción, and Archbishop Darío de Jesús Monsalve Mejía of Cali. If the Pallium reminds you of your special responsibility for the suffragan Churches and your special bond with the See of Peter, it entails for you who guide them greater closeness in prayer and collaboration in the ministry entrusted to them. As I invoke the protection of the Most Holy Virgin Mary, I warmly impart to you the Apostolic Blessing which I extend with pleasure to all the pastors and faithful of these particular Churches in Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Argentina and Chile.

I greet with deep affection the Metropolitans of Angola and Brazil, who yesterday received the Pallium, the liturgical emblem that expresses a special union of your archdioceses with the See of Peter: Archbishop Luis María Pérez de Onraita of Malanje, Archbishop José Manuel Imbamba of Saurimo, Archbishop Murilo Sebastião Ramos Krieger of São Salvador da Bahia, Archbishop Pedro Brito Guimarães of Palmas, Archbishop Jacinto Bergmann of Pelotas, Archbishop Hélio Adelar Rubert of Santa Maria, Archbishop Pedro Ercílio Simon of Passo Fundo, Archbishop Dimas Lara Barbosa of Campo Grande, and Archbishop Sérgio da Rocha of Brasília. May the Lord Jesus who has chosen you as pastors of his flock protect you in your daily ministry and make you faithful heralds of the Gospel with the power of the Holy Spirit. I also welcome your relatives, friends and the faithful of your particular churches who have accompanied you to Rome. I assure all of you and your archdiocesan communities of my daily remembrance in prayer and I impart to you from the depths of my heart the Apostolic Blessing

I address my cordial greeting to Archbishop Zbigņev Stankevičs of Riga and to all those who have accompanied him, as I express my best wishes for a fruitful ministry.

I address a cordial greeting to Archbishop Marjan Turnšek of Maribor and to the Slovenes who have accompanied him, as I wish them a fruitful ministry and impart to everyone the Apostolic Blessing.

Dear friends, let us thank the Lord who in his infinite goodness does not fail to give pastors to his Church. I assure you, dear Metropolitan Archbishops, of my spiritual closeness and of my prayerful support for your service, whose essential prerequisite is love for Christ, to whom you must prefer nothing.

St Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage stated in his Treatise on the Our Father Cartagine: “to prefer nothing whatever to Christ, because he did not prefer anything to us; to remain steadfast in his love; to stand by his cross bravely and faithfully” and “to show in words constancy in confessing our faith in him”.

May Christ always watch over you, dear brothers and may the Virgin Mary, Regina Apostolorum support you and may my Blessing be with you, which I warmly renew to each one of you, to your loved ones and to all those entrusted to your episcopal care.

 



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